UNIVERSITY  OF  CA  R'VERSipE    LIBRARY 


3  1210  01850  1211 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

RIVERSIDE 


HOSEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D., 


FIRST    PRESIDENT    OF    TUFTS    COLLEGE 


His  Origin,  Life,  and  Letters. 


HOSEA   STARR   BALLOU, 

Member  of  Bhode  Island  Historical   Society,    Virginia   Historical    Society, 

Neio-England   Historic  Genealogical  Society,  and  Societe  de 

I'Histoire  du  Frotestantisme  Frangais,  Paris. 


BOSTON: 

E.  P.  GUILD  &  COMPANY. 

1896. 


IDS 


COPTRIGHT,  1S96, 

BY  HosEA  Starr  Ballou. 


PREFACE. 


Estimates  of  Dr.  Ballou's  character,  ability,  and  work;  and  the 
popular  demand  for  such  rare  wit  as  was  his,  it  has  long  been  felt 
should  prompt  a  competent  hand  to  write,  in  permanent  form,  the  story 
of  his  life.  Such  a  hand  would  have  been  Thomas  Starr  King's,  or 
Edwin  H.  Chapin's,  but  both  are  vanished,  and  a  memoir  planned 
thirty  years  ago  —  to  the  deep  regi-et  of  many  —  was  never  written. 

"With  extreme  reluctance,  I  undertook,  neai'ly  a  year  ago,  the 
difficult  task  of  preparing  this  centennial  memorial,  as  an  avoca- 
tion, in  the  midst  of  exacting  and  engrossing  duties.  May  it  help 
to  make  us  duly  grateful  for  the  work  Dr.  Ballou  did  so  well,  and 
prove  interesting  and  profitable  to  the  reader  ! 

I  take  pleasure  in  acknowledging  courtesies  extended  to  me  by  the 
following,  namely  :  the  officers  of  Harvard  University  and  of  Tufts 
College,  in  granting  access  to  manuscript  records ;  the  lamented 
Lucius  R.  Paige,  d.d.,  in  granting  access  to  valuable  files,  and  for 
interesting  recollections  ;  the  venerable  Thomas  J.  Sawyer,  d.d.,  in 
the  use  of  Dr.  Ballou's  letters  to  him  ;  Prof.  Charles  H.  Leonard, 
D.D.,  and  Prof .  W.  R.  Shipman,  d.d.,  for  helpful  suggestions;  the 
Universalist  Publishing  House,  for  access  to  its  files  and  for  the  use 
of  three  steel  plates  ;  the  Class  of  1897  in  Tufts  College,  for  the  use 
of  two  half-tone  plates  ;  Mr.  J.  M.  Usher,  for  the  use  of  a  half-tone 
plate  ;  and  several  archivists  and  others  whose  names  will  appear  in 
their  proper  places,  respectively,  in  the  following  pages. 

H.  S.  B. 
Brookline.  Mass.,  September  7,  1896. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  Ancestry  and  Inherited  Tendencies 5 

II.  Early  Environment 22 

III.  Youth:  Its  Impressions  and  Expressions 49 

IV.  At  Stafford,  Roxbdry,  and  Medford 67 

V.  Counsels  Union  and  Peace 109 

VI.  The  Ancient  History  of  Universalism     .......  127 

VII.  The  Expositor  and  the  Quarterly 143 

VIII.  Honors  Bestowed 158 

IX.  Travels 168 

X.  Wit  and  Wisdom 19Q 

XI.  Students  in  Theology 216 

XII.  Endeavors  for  Denominational  Education 250 

XIII.  Tufts  College 265 

XIV.  Estimates  of  his  Character,  Ability,  and  Work  .    .    .  297 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Dr.  Ballou  at  50 Frontispiece 

(Engraved  from  an  early  daguerreotype.) 

OPPOSITE  PAGE 

St.  Mary's,  Ashford,  Ivent,  England 17 

Birtiiplace 32 

Winchester  Cliurcli,  1S03 39 

Early  Home 42 

Facsimile  of  Asahel  Ballou's  Handwriting 47 

Mountain  Views 49 

The  District  Sctiool,  ftnd  where  he  "  went  a-coui'ting  " 50 

Asahel  Ballou  in  his  seventieth  year 52 

(From  a  painting  by  Giddings  Hyde  Ballou.) 

Hosea  Ballou,  senior,  as  Teacher 55 

Universalist  Church,  Portsmouth,  1813 55 

Portsmouth  Home  and  School 58 

First  Universalist  Church  in  Connecticut 69 

First  Universalist  Church  of  Roxbury,  1821 79 

First  Universalist  Church  of  Roxbury,  1896 90 

School  Street  Chui-ch,  Boston 91 

First  Universalist  Church  of  Medford,  1854 107 

Hosea  Ballou,  senior,  at  about  55 Ill 

Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  at  about  30 112 

Thomas  Whittemore  at  about  26 112 

Hosea  Ballou,  2d 145 

(From  an  oil  painting  by  Giddings  Hyde  Ballou.) 
Five  Presidents  of  Harvard  University:    Josiah  Quincy,  Edward 

Everett,  Jared  Sparks,  James  Walker,  and  Cornelius  C.  Felton  .  163 

Notch  House,  White  Mountains,  1844 170 

Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  d.d 181 

(From  a  crayon  portrait  by  Giddings  Hyde  Ballou.) 

Thomas  A.  Goddard 190 

Mrs.  Mary  T.  Goddard 191 

Cornhill 200 

First  Parish  Church  of  Orange 220 

Levi  Ballou 220 


ILL  US  TEA  TIONS.  —  Continued. 

H.  S.  Ballou       222 

Lombard  University 223 

William  Starr  Ballou 223 

Thomas  Starr  King 233 

Edwin  Hubbell  Chapin 233 

Amory  Dwight  Mayo 238 

St.  Lawrence  University 243 

John  Stebbins  Lee 243 

First  Universalist  Church  of  Boston 246 

Sumner  Ellis       246 

Oliver  Dean,  m.d 255 

Charlestown  Universalist  Church 257 

Charles  Tufts 259 

Mrs.  Hannah  (Robinson)  Tufts 259 

Silvanus  Packard 274 

Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  d.d.,  first  President  of  Tufts  College 281 

(From  a  lithograph  portrait  by  Cyrus  and  Darius  Cobb.} 

Tufts  College,  1855 • 285 

Ballou  Hall 287 

Faculty  and  Students,  1854 291 

Facsimile  of  Dr.  Ballou's  Handwriting 295 

Tufts  College,  1896 301 

Faculty  of  Tufts  College,  1896 303 

Model  of  Bust  of  Dr.  Ballou,  by  W.  W.  Story 307 


HOSEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ANCESTRY   AND   INHERITED   TENDENCIES. 

"  HoSEA  Ballou  —  was  born  October  18,  1796." 
This  is  an  entry  in  the  family  record   in  my  grandfather's 
neat  handwriting,  strongly  suggestive  of  French  penmanship ; 
and  he  interlined,  "  my  eldest."     A  century  ago  !      The  child 
was  the  second  to  bear  the  name. 

"  Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother,"  says  Holy  Writ. 
What  blood,  what  tendencies,  what  traits  of  character,  did  the 
child  inherit  from  his  ancestors  ?  Who  were  his  ancestors  ? 
"  Do  you  know  that  with  the  bias  which  came  to  you,  or  to  me, 
from  your  ancestor,  or  mine,  there  came  also  a  potent  force 
speaking  from  the  souls  of  the  heroes  of  old  ?  "  ^  At  an  early 
age  Benjamin  Ballou,  the  child's  grandfather,  at  whose  house 
he  was  born,  felt  deep  interest  and  modest  pride  in  his  an- 
cestry ;  and  at  twenty-seven  years  of  age,  in  1774,  he  wrote  the 
first  genealogy  of  the  Ballous  in  America,  from  Mathurin  Ballou 
or  Belleau  —  for  in  the  first  fifty  years  I  find  the  name  spelled 
as  often  the  one  way  as  the  other  —  down  to  the  time  of  the 
American  Revolution.  As  a  genealogist  of  the  family,  it  is 
truly  said,  he  had  "  no  rival  or  imitator  for  more  than  two 
centuries." 

1  George  F.  Hoar,  at  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the  N.  E.  Hist.  Gten.  Soc.  in  Old  South 
Church,  Boston,  April  19, 1895. 

5 


6  HO  SEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

Benjamin  Ballou's  manuscript  begins  as  follows,  namely :  — 

SciTUATE,  March  20,  1774. 

This  writing  was  Written  by  Benjamin  Ballou  of  Scituate,  in  the 
County  of  Providence,  in  the  colony  of  Rhode  Island. 

Having  undertaken  to  write  this  small  Book  for  myself  that  I 
may  remember  my  Fore  Fathers,  and  not  forget  them,  I  shall  begin 
as  far  back  as  I  have  any  intelligence  of  them.  And  have  with  care 
and  pains  diligently  made  inquii-y.  But  can  find  out  but  little  of 
their  births  and  deaths.  And  finding  it  very  difficult  to  find  any 
great  about  them,  I  think  it  high  time  to  write  what  little  I  know 
about  them.  Not  knowing  any  one  who  hath  undertaken  this  work, 
or  have  any  account  of  them. 

The  first  that  bore  the  name  was  Matturiean^  Ballou  that  was 
ever  known  in  these  parts,  or  in  New  England.  .  .  .  This  Mattu- 
riean  Ballou  arrived  first  at  Rhode  Island,  which  makes  me  think  he 
did  not  come  before  the  year  1637, ^  because  Rhode  Island  was  not 
purchased  of  the  Indians  until  about  that  time. 

Matturiean  Ballou,  1st,  had  5  Sons  and  one  Daughter 

The  sons'  names  were  John  Ballou,  1st, 
Peter  Ballou,  1st, 
James  Ballou,  1st, 
Nathaniel  Ballou,  1st, 
Samuel  BaUou,  1st. 

His  daughter's  name  was  Hannah  B. 

Nathaniel  Ballou,  1st,  Died  a  young  man.  Samuel  Ballou,  1st,  was 
drowned  when  he  was  a  small  lad.  This  is  the  first  stock  of  the 
Ballous  as  I  understand. 

Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  painstaking  historian,  and  accustomed  to 

1  This  spelling  suggests  the  silent  ft,  the  trilling  r,  and  the  final  in  in  the  original  Prencti 
name  Mathurin,  now  Anglicized  Maturin,  and  his  father's  own  pronunciation.  Said  Hosea 
Ballou,  2d,  in  the  Quarterly,  April,  1854,  p.  176 :  "  He  was  doubtless  of  French  descent,  as 
both  his  Christian  name  and  his  surname  indicate."  And  again :  "  Mathurin,  as  a  Chris- 
tian name,  is  frequently  met  with  in  French  families,  and,  so  far  as  we  know,  in  none 
others  except  cases  in  which  it  has  been  derived  or  borrowed  from  them." 

2  By  a  tradition  written  down  in  1773,  he  "  came  to  this  country  in  1638,  by  some  said  to 
have  landed  at  New  Port." 


ANCESTBY  AND  INHERITED    TENDENCIES.  7 

weigh  evidence  with  a  critical  eye,  as  he  was,  always  firmly 
believed  that  the  ancient  tradition  of  the  French  Huguenot 
origin  of  the  Ballou  family  was  entitled  to  unqualified  accept- 
ance as  historical  fact.  In  a  manuscript  memorandum  now 
before  me,  bearing  his  familiar  signature,  under  date  of  June, 
1863,  he  quotes  from  the  French  Biographical  Dictionary,  pub- 
lished at  Paris  under  the  direction  of  M.  le  Dr.  Hoefer :  "  Jean 
de  la  Balue,  cardinal,  born  1421,  at  Verdun  [possibly  at 
Limoges,  others  say  at  Poitiers]  ;  ^  died  1491.  His  father 
became  a  magistrate  of  the  Bourg  of  Augle  (some  twenty 
miles  north  of  Poitiers)  in  Poitou.  He  was  private  minister  of 
Louis  XI,  and  did  him  much  service  in  some  of  his  exigencies, 
but  entered  into  a  secret  correspondence  with  the  court  of 
Charles  of  Burgundy,  and  advised  Louis  to  make  the  famous 
visit  to  that  prince.^  Louis  afterward  sent  him  to  Loches,  and 
confined  him  there  in  a  cage  ^  such  as  the  cardinal  himself  had 
invented." 

According  to  Sir  Walter  Scott,^  "  He  wa-s  tall  and  un- 
gainly in  his  person."  He  was  a  man  of  affairs.^  Through 
him  despatch  carriers  were  established,  the  foundation  of  the 
present  postal  system  of  France ;  public  roads  and  canals  were 
improved ;  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  was  promoted  by  the  es- 
tablishment of  universities,  and  more  especially  through  the 
great  invention  of  the  fifteenth  century  by  establishing  print- 
ing offices  at  Poitiers,  Lyons,  and  elsewhere ;  and  perhaps 
second  to  none  of  these  in  preparing  the  way  for  the  Refor- 
mation in  France  were  his  efforts  to  promote  foreign  trade 
on  the  high  seas.  What  Cardinal  Wolsey  was  to  Henry  VIII 
of  England,  all  that  was  Cardinal  Balue  to  Louis  XI  of  France 

1  See  "  Memoires  of  Philip  de  Comines,"  edited  by  Scoble,  vol.  I,  p.  94. 
-For  causes  of  his  arrest  see  "De  Troyes'  Secret  History  of  Louis  XI  (Chronicle)," 
vol.  II,  pp.  35&-358. 

3  For  this  iron  cage  Louis  XI  paid,  February  11, 1469,  sixty  livres,  his  accounts  show. 
*  See  "  Rise  of  the  Huguenots  of  France,"  by  H.  M.  Baird,  vol.  I,  p.  34. 
5  See  "  De  Troyes'  Chronicle,"  vol.  II,  pp.  311, 346, 349. 


8  HOSE  A  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

a  full  generation  earlier.  But  Louis  XI  was  crafty,  faithless, 
dissipated,  and  cruel,  and  whether  rightly  or  not,  his  prime 
minister,  Balue,  was  suspected  of  the  same  characteristics. 
That  the  powers  at  Rome  still  had  full  confidence  in  him, 
however,  is  significant.  Pope  Sixtus  IV  secured  Balue's  lib- 
eration,!  and,  not  content  to  heap  wealth  and  honors  upon  him, 
vindicated  him  in  the  very  eyes  of  the  French  by  sending 
him  as  legate  to  Paris.  By  appointment  of  Pope  Innocent 
VIII,  the  last  seven  years  of  his  life  he  was  successively 
bishop  of  Albano  and  of  Preneste,  and  protector  of  the  Order 
of  Malta.2 

Cardinal  Balue  was  a  Catholic,  but  in  his  day  Protestant 
Europe  there  was  none.  At  the  time  of  his  death  France  had 
not  yet  given  birth  to  John  Calvin,  and  Martin  Luther,  in  Ger- 
many, was  eight  years  old ;  and  long  years  afterward  both 
Luther  and  Calvin  preached  Roman  Catholicism.^  He  did  much 
to  prepare  the  way  for  the  Reformation  in  France.  His  epitaph 
might  well  read*:  "  Here  rests  one  who  never  knew  rest." 

Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  appears  to  incline  to  the  opinion  that  his 
first  American  ancestor,  Mathurin  Ballou,  and  Cardinal  Jean  de 
la  Balue  had  a  common  family  origin,  but  he  was  not  able  to 
trace  the  line  of  descent,  did  he  indeed  care  to  make  the  attempt. 
A  century  and  a  half  spans  the  gap  between  them.  Probably 
Poitou,*  possibly  Picardy,  "pas  de  Calais,"^  was  the  ancient 
home  of  the  Ballous  in  France. 

There  is  an  idle  fancy  that  the  name  is  derived  from  the  Greek 
BaUw  (Ballo,  with  a  long  o),  I  throw,  referring  to  some  Athe- 

1  See  Comines'  "  Memoires,"  vol.  II,  p.  39. 

2 In  Quarterly,  April,  1854,  p.  176,  Dr.  Ballou  also  speaks  of  the  French  Deputy  to  the 
Legislative  Assembly  Ballue. 

3 See  H.  Ballou,  2d,  on  The  Reformation  in  Quarterly  for  April,  1844,  pp.  136-163. 

*  For  rise  of  Protestantism  in  Poitou  from  about  1545,  see  H.  M.  Baird's  "  History  of  the 
Rise  of  the  Huguenots  of  France,"  vol.  I,  p.  434,  vol.  II,  p.  71  and  pp.  323-328;  also  "  His- 
toire  des  Protestants  et  des  Eglises  Reformes  du  Poitou,"  3  vols,  by  Auguste  Lievre. 

s  See  "  Recueil  des  Historias  des  Gaules  et  <le  la  trance,"  t.  21,  p.  255;  t.  23,  pp.  810-821. 


AXCESTBY  AND  INHEBITED    TENDENCIES.  9 

nian  pitcher  at  the  Olympian  games  iu  the  days  of  Socrates,  or 
perhaps  to  some  one  of  the  heroes  of  Homer,  expert  with  the 
sling,  who  figured  in  that  earliest  Grecian  myth,  the  siege  of 
Troy.  But  in  my  opinion  the  suggestion  is  as  unfounded  as 
that  of  a  recent  historian,  made  in  all  soberness,  that  Mathurin 
Ballou's  family  had  lived  in  England  five  centuries,  that  he  was 
descended  from  Guinebond  Balou,  probably  a  marshal  in  the 
army  of  William  the  Conqueror  in  1066. ^  For  Mathurin  ^  is  a 
French  name  exclusively ;  and  while  neither  the  name  Ballou  nor 
Belleau  —  the  two  well-authenticated  forms  of  the  name  found 
in  the  early  Rhode  Island  records  of  the  family  —  nor  the  name 
Mathurin  is  found  in  England,  in  the  archives  of  the  Society 
de  I'Hisloire  du  Protestantisme  FrauQais  we  find  the  names  of 
Ballou  and  Belleau  amongst  those  of  Protestant  French  families 
in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries.  Fortunately  origi- 
nal signatures  of  three  of  Mathurin's  sons,  —  John,  James,  and 
Nathaniel,  —  written  in  the  decade  1670-1680,  have  come  down 
to  us  all  written  Ballou,  as  we  now  write  the  name.  They  are 
known  to  have  been  intelligent  men,  and  measured  by  the  rules 
of  historical  criticism,  their  evidence  is  extremely  important  in 
establishing  the  origin  of  the  family  as  well  as  the  correct  family 
name.  It  is  worthy  of  note,  also,  that  fully  two  centuries  ago 
a  Ballou  family  —  so  they  spell  the  name  —  settled  in  Virginia,^ 
which  until  recent  years  has  had  no  acquaintance  or  intercourse 
with  the  New  England  Ballous,  and  they  too  cherish  the  tradi- 
tion that  their  first  American  ancestor  in  the  direct  male  line 
was  a  persecuted  French  Protestant,  probably  a  member  of  a 

1  Adin  Ballou,  "  Ballous  in  America,"  p.  vi. 

»e.  g.,  Mathurin  Renault  in  1588  and  Mathurin  Cartier  in  1610  at  La  Rochelle;  and  the 
order  of  the  Mathurins  — Cluny,  and  Mathurin  Cordier,  John  Calvin's  teacher,  in  Paris. 

'  In  "  The  Ballous  in  America,"  p.  1221,  Adin  Ballou  discredits  this  tradition  of  Hugue- 
not origin,  as  it  seems  to  us  without  cause,  and  tries  to  connect  both  Ballou  families  with 
one  Col.  William  Bellew,  an  English  military  ofl&cer,  who  was  granted  Virginia  lands  In 
1651-62,  and  who  by  Suffolk  (Mass.;  Records,  Book  I,  p.  61,  was  living  "28(5),  1645  "at 
Dover,  N.  H. 


lU  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

Huguenot  colony  which  it  is  known  was  early  planted  in 
Virginia. 

The  French  om,  as  in  Poitou,  Anjou,  and  bouquet,  is  ex- 
pressed in  French-English  dictionaries  as  the  sound-equivalent 
of  00,  and  we  are  not  surprised  to  find  the  name  often  spelled 
Balloo  in  the  early  records,  a  straining  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
tongue  to  give  the  sound-value  of  a  distinctively  French  name. 

The  written  testimony  of  a  university  man  like  Roger  Wil- 
liams, who  had  lived  in  the  little  settlement  with  Mathurin 
Ballou  for  at  least  eleven  years,  is  confusing,  but  fairly  conclu- 
sive that  the  family  was  French.  Under  date  of  "  Providence, 
31,  11,  '63  (so  called)  "  he  wrote  the  name  Belleau.  It  is  a 
suggestive  coincident  that  Sir  Harry  Vane,  the  greatest  Uni- 
vexsalist  of "  his  century,  named  his  favorite  country  seat  in 
Lincolnshire  "  Belleau,"  and  many  of  his  letters  to  Roger 
Williams  and  others  were  written  there.^  What  led  him  to 
give  his  estate  this  peculiar  name?  It  was  in  1635  that  Sir 
Harry  Vane  came  to  Massachusetts  Bay  in  one  of  the  ships  of 
Matthew  Craddock  of  Medford  fame,  a  young  man  of  twenty- 
three,  after  his  travels  in  France,  Holland,  and  Switzerland. 
Had  he  there  possibly  met  the  family  of  Mathurin  Belleau? 
Were  the  young  men  —  of  about  the  same  age  —  friends? 
What  had  they  in  common  ?  This  at  least,  —  that  they  were 
"  as  good  as  lost "  to  their  respective  families  ;  that  they  could 
converse  in  French ;  that  they  could  sing  Clement  Marot's 
inspiring  hymns  together ;  that  each  left  home  "  for  conscience' 
sake."  More,  history  does  not  tell  us,  and  we  do  not  know  that 
the  two  ever  met. 

It  is  a  mistaken  notion  that  the  little  band  at  Providence  were 
Baptists.     In  fact,  it  was  a  discordant  band  of  anti-errorists. 

1  See  Vane's  letter  to  Williams,  dated  Belleau,  February  8,  1653-4,  in  R.I.  Colonial 
Records,  vol.  I,  p.  285,  also  letter  to  Oliver  GromweU,  December  20, 1655.  Also  see  colossal 
statue  of  Vane  in  Boston  Public  Library. 


ANCESTBY  AND  INHEBITED    TENDENCIES.  11 

Williams  was  not  the  only  "  conscientiously  contentious  man." 
Not  one  in  ten  were  Baptists,  and  the  first  Baptist  meeting- 
house was  not  built  until  a.d.  1700.  With  Gorton,  Harris, 
Bull,  Coddington,  Anne  Hutchinson,  and  the  rest,  Rhode  Ibland 
was  the  asylum  of  heretics.  And  to  the  last.  Vane  was  deeply 
interested  in  the  experiment  there  for  the  first  time  made  in 
religious  liberty. 

But  Mathurin  Ballou  cannot,  have  been  a  Huguenot  refugee, 
argues  a  recent  historian,  because  the  Edict  of  Nantes  was  not 
revoked  until  1685,  and  he  came  to  America  a  full  generation 
earlier.  He  reached  Providence  as  early  as  1650,  it  is  true. 
But  let  the  student  of  French  history  say  if  the  Huguenots 
were  secure  in  their  property,  their  liberty,  and  their  lives  from 
its  signing  in  1598  till  its  revocation.  When  De  Mont,  in  1603, 
secured  a  grant  of  North  America  between  the  fortieth  and 
forty-sixth  degrees  of  north  latitude,  did  he  not  foresee  that  an 
asylum  for  his  fellow-Huguenots  would  soon  be  needed  ?  When 
October  28,  1628,  the  last  of  the  fortified  Protestant  towns.  La 
Rochelle,  the  Geneva  of  the  West,  fell  before  the  Catholic 
forces  after  a  siege  of  fourteen  months,  it  was  the  death  knell 
of  Protestantism  in  France  for  many  a  long  year.  "  Children 
in  their  cradles,  women  in  childbirth,  the  aged,  the  sick  and 
bed-ridden  were  pitilessly  ejected."  ^  Then  the  dispersion 
began.     Holland,  England,  America  ^  were   the  gainers. 

Three  Huguenots  came  to  Plymouth  in  the  Mayflower  in 
1620,  Priscilla  Moline,  famous  in  the  Standish-Alden  episode, 
with  her  father,  of  the  number.  According  to  the  records  of 
Boston  town  in  1656,  "  Monsieur  Christian  Belvile  and  Lady 
Francis  Hopkins  were  married  9th  —  4th  month,  by  John 
Endicott,  Gov'r."     In  describing  Boston  about  1663  in  "  Won- 

>  C.  W.  Balrd's  "  History  of  the  Huguenot  Emigration  to  America,"  vol.  I,  p.  269. 

2  See  numerous  letters,  1643-1651,  in  Massachusetts  Archives,  vols.  240  and  241,  from 
D'Aulany  and  La  Tour,  and  replies  of  Governor  Endicott,  Governor  Winthrop,  E.  Saltou- 
stall,  etc.;  also  Parkman's  History,  vol.  I,  p.  399. 


12  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

der  Working  Providence,"  Johnson  says :  "  This  town  is  the 
very  mart  of  the  land ;  Dutch,  French,  and  Portugalls  come 
here  to  trafique."  A  letter  dated  June  27,  1654,  from  the 
Providence  Colony  to  Sir  Harry  Vane  complaining  of  "  most 
unrighteous  plundering  "  by  Mr.  Dyre  of  "  Dutch,  French,  and 
English  also,"  ^  proves  that  French  so  early  visited  Narragan- 
sett  Bay.  Again,  among  the  prominent  Huguenot  refugees  at 
New  York  about  1676  was  Jean  Baptiste  du  Poitiers,  sieur  du 
Buisson,  son  of  Pierre  du  Poitiers  and  H^lene  de  Belleau,  of 
St.  Martin  d' Annecour,  diocese  of  Amiens,  — "  evidently  a 
person  of  character,  and  of  standing  and  influence  among  the 
refugees,"  says  Riker.^  Was  his  mother  a  sister  or  relative  of 
Mathurin  ? 

Says  Macaulay  :  "  Among  the  Huguenots  who  had  fled  from 
the  tyranny  of  the  French  king  were  many  persons  of  great  fame 
in  war,  in  letters,  in  arts,  and  in  sciences ;  and  even  the  hum- 
blest refugees  were  intellectually  and  morally  above  the  aver- 
age of  the  common  people  of  any  kingdom  in  Europe."  ^ 

Referring  to  his  visit  among  the  sights  of  Paris  in  1854,  Hosea 
Ballou,  2d,  wrote  to  his  brother,  the  Rev.  Levi  Ballon :  "  Taking 
a  cab  at  the  depot,  I  had  not  ridden  far  through  the  streets 
when  I  saw  the  name  Ballue  on  a  sign.  I  afterward  made 
acquaintance  with  the  proprietor,  and  with  another  family  in 
Paris  of  the  same  name,  but  could  not  ascertain  whether  we 
were  of  kin."  Twenty-seven  years  later,  while  in  Paris,  I 
made  the  acquaintance  of  M.  Ballu,  son  of  the  architect  of  the 
Hotel  de  Ville,  or  City  Hall,  of  Paris,  but  we  were  not  able 
to  conjecture  what  degree  of  relationship,  if  any,  there  might 
be  between  us. 

From  the  evidence  thus  briefly  adduced^  we  may  assert  that 

1  See  R.  I.  Hist.  Society's  Magazine,  vol.  V,  p.  107. 

2"  Harlem,  Its  Origin  and  Early  Annals,"  p.  416. 

3"  History  of  England,"  vol.  IV,  p.  535. 

*  My  researches  have  discovered  abundant  corroborative  evidence. 


ANGE8TBY  AND  INHERITED    TENDENCIES.  13 

Mathurin  Ballou  was  not  an  Englishman,  descended  from  a  "  Nor- 
man Chieftain,"  but  a  Frenchman,  a  Huguenot ;  and  that  the 
ancient  tradition  which  the  subject  of  this  memoir  found  a 
stimulus  to  heroic  endeavor  in  his  youth  and  early  manhood, 
and  a  cherished  belief  of  his  old  age,  is  fully  established  as 
authentic  history. 

We  only  know  on  the  authority  of  the  second  Thomas  Olney, 
many  years  town  clerk  of  Providence,  and  minister  of  the  First 
Baptist  Church,  as  quoted  in  a  deposition  of  Deputy  Governor 
Joseph  Jenckes  of  date  October  2,  1718,  that  when  Mathurin 
Ballou's  wife,  Hannah,  "  came  first  to  providence,  her  father 
and  mother  [Robert  ^  and  Catherine  Pike],  her  husband 
and  Shee  kept  Some  Time  at  his  father's  house,  in  which  time 
they  had  Discourse  about  their  age,  &  found  they  were  both 
born  in  one  year  [1632],  &  he  was  then  Eighteen  years  of 
age,"  that  is,  in  1650.  His  father,  the  first  Thomas  Olney ,^ 
joined  Roger  Williams  in  1636  or  7  and  had  "  one  of  the  better 
houses"  in  Providence.  The  homestead  where  the  Ballous  first 
"  kept  Some  Time  "  was  on  North  Main  Street,  south  of  the 
State  House  in  Providence,  and  Arsenal  Lane  runs  through  the 
land.  The  name  first  appears  as  Mathurin  Bellou,  in  a  list  of 
"  26-acre "  men  ^  at  Providence  subsequent  to  "  the  18th  of 
11  mo.,  1645"  (January  18,  1646). 

Robert  Pike's  family  were  probably  from  Severls,  parish  of 
Crewkerne,  Somerset,  England,*  and  no  doubt  sailed  from 
Bristol,  the  nearest  seaport,  as  did  Roger  Williams,^  and  Thomas 
and  William  Harris,  founders  of  Providence.    His  sister  Justina,^ 

'  Captain  Robert  Pike,  wlio  represented  tlie  Massachusetts  Bay  government  at  York, 
Me.,  in  May,  1662,  and  again  in  September,  1667,  was  probably  another  person. 

2 The  first  American  ancestor  of  Hon.  Richard  Olney,  at  present  Secretary  of  State  at 
Washington. 

3  See  W.  R.  Staples'  "  Annals  of  the  Town  of  Providence,"  pp.  60,  61. 

*  See  cases  1280-1,  Suffolk  Co.  Clerk's  office,  An('ient  Records. 

^  The  last  record  of  Roger  Williams  at  Dorchester  is  in  the  winter  of  1636-7. 

c  She  is  first  mentioned  there  "  '29  of  8  mo.,  1641,"  when  she  joined  the  Dorchester  church. 


14  HOSE  A  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

—  wife  of  Nathaniel  Patten,  "  New  England  Planter "  and 
money  lender,  and  owner  of  a  wharf  and  five  houses,  each  with 
large  lots  of  land,  in  Boston,  besides  his  Dorchester  plantation,  — 
lived  in  Dorchester,  Mass.,  and  died  there  an  aged  widow  and 
childless.  In  her  will,  dated  January  2,  1673,  she  made  her 
"  Sister  Pike  aforesaid,  her  daughter  and  her  daughter's  chil- 
dren "  residuary  legatees  to  one  half  her  estate.  It  was  a  con- 
siderable estate  ^  for  Boston  town,  and  the  Ballon  family,  for 
several  generations,  reaped  substantial  benefits  from  it. 

Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  was  descended  from  Mathurin  Ballou's 
oldest  son,  John,  whose  services  in  the  Indian  War  were  recog- 
nized by  the  General  Assembly  in  1684.  Two  filial  and  devout 
letters  from  him,  written  at  or  near  Newport,  dated  respectively 
February  4,  1677,  and  April  1,  1678,  are  preserved.  "Loving 
Brother,"  in  each  he  begins,  "  My  love  is  remembered  unto  thee 
and  to  my  grandmother  and  to  Peter.  .  .  .  We  are  all  in  health 

—  thanks  be  to  God  for  his  mercy."  He  had  also  courage  and 
tenacity  to  defend  what  he  believed  to  be  right.  His  third 
child  was  Peter  Ballou,  who  prospered  as  farmer  and  cooper. 
"  Tradition  reports  him  to  have  been  a  very  conscientious  and 
morally  exemplary  man."  He  had  eleven  children,  of  whom 
the  fifth,  and  the  eldest  son,  born  in  1722,  he  named  for  his 
grandfather,  Matturiean.^  His  ancient  bull's-eye  watch  is  pre- 
served with  his  signature  in  this  form.  He  manufactured  spin- 
ning wheels  at' Pawtucket,  and  "taught  a  large  school"  at 
Foster,  R.  I.,  and  elsewhere  for  a  livelihood,  and  was  a  Baptist 
preacher  for  fifty  years,  —  preaching,  as  Plato  taught,  from  a 
sense  of  duty,  never  for  stipulated  compensation.  He  married 
Lydia  Harris,^  a  descendant  of  Thomas  Harris,*  Quaker,  who 
sailing   from    Bristol,  England,  to  Massachusetts  on   the  ship 

iSee  Suffolk  Probate  Records,  Lib.  VII,  p.  236. 

2  See  note,  p.  6. 

3Lyi-lia,5  Richard,  Jr.,-*  Richard,^  Tiiomas,  Jr.,^  Thomas. i 

*  He  is  a  beneficiary  under  the  first  will  entered  in  Suffolk  Probate  Records. 


ANCESTRY  AXD  INHERITED    TENDENCIES.  15 

Lyon,  Dfecember  1,  1630,  became  from  the  first  a  prudent  and 
distinguished  leader  at  Providence  in  the  affairs  of  both  town 
and  colony.  Four  of  their  sons,  Benjamin,  Maturin,  David, 
and  Hosea,  were  later  known  as  preachers. 

Rev.  Maturin  Ballou  was  a  large  man,  taller  than  his  youngest 
son,  Hosea,  and  broad  in  proportion.  Some  still  remember 
Hosea,  his  graceful  and  imposing  figure  as  he  rode  on  horseback 
about  the  streets  of  Boston.  All  the  sons  were  good  horse- 
men, but  Rev.  Maturin  was  accounted  a  better  horseman  still. 
Visiting  his  son  Hosea  once,  at  Barnard,  Vt.,  the  saddle  horses 
were  brought  to  the  door.  Maturin  mounted  easily  and  grace- 
fully, but  the  son,  it  appears,  was  not  so  easily  seated  in  the 
saddle.  And  the  old  gentleman  said,  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye, 
"Ah,  Hosea,  shall  I  help  you  to  mount?" 

"  Elder  Maturin  Ballou,  the  father,  died  in  Richmond,  1804, 
aged  82,"  says  Hosea  Ballou,  2d.  "  Once,  in  my  childhood,  I 
saw  him ;  .  .  .  I  recall  a  faint  image  of  a  benignant,  lovable 
countenance,  a  tall  person,  with  a  peculiar  native  grace  in  his 
air.  I  have  also  a  strong  impression  that  it  used  to  be  said 
that  he  became  a  Universalist  before  he  died.  .  .  .  He  had 
the  reputation  of  great  gentleness,  goodness,  and  piety ;  was 
respected  and  much  esteemed ;  but  was  not  eminent  as  a  public 
speaker." 

Benjamin  Ballou,  the  eldest  son,  was  also  a  large  man,  en- 
dowed with  a  strong  constitution  ;  he  inherited  a  vigorous  mind, 
which  was  trained  to  systematic  thought,  and  he  occasionally 
preached,  although  never  ordained.  In  deeds  he  was  styled 
"shipwright,"  later  "tradesman."  Says  the  Trumpet,^  he  "sus- 
tained a  religious  and  a  moral  character  honorable  to  the  Chris- 
tian and  the  man."  He  was  living  in  Providence  County, 
Rhode  Island,  where  the  family  had  always  lived,  when  his 
wife,  Lydia  Horton  (probably  from   Rehoboth,  Mass.),  gave 

1  March  1,1834. 


16  HOSE  A  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

birth  to  their  first  child,  at  Foster,  "Friday,  January  18,  1771." 
He  was  named  Asahel  Ballou. 

Three  months  and  twelve  days  later,  April  30,  1771,  Benja- 
min Ballou's  youngest  brother,  Hosea  Ballou,  the  first  of  the 
name,  was  born  at  Richmond,  N.  H.  When  the  two  boys, 
Asahel  and  Hosea,  were  about  eleven  years  old  they  first  met. 
That  was  a  fortunate  meeting.  Hosea,  motherless  since  he  was 
two  years  old,  now  spent  much  of  his  time  in  his  oldest  brother's 
home.  After  he  was  sixteen  he  was  employed  there  at  least 
one  summer.  The  boys  became  fast  friends,  and  remained 
devoted  friends  as  long  as  they  lived,  —  for  nearly  seventy 
years.  Hosea  Ballou  has  said  that  they  "  became,  while  quite 
young,  much  attached  to  each  other ;  and  had  we  been  twins, 
children  of  one  mother,  I  know  not  that  we  should  have  loved 
each  other  better  than  we  did."  ^ 

Asahel  grew  up  a  tall,  well-proportioned,  dark-haired  young 
man,  modest  and  retiring,  with  intelligent,  expressive  face,  and 
mild  bluish  brown  eyes ;  of  industrious  habits  on  the  farm  and 
in  his  father's  shop ;  an  accurate  mechanic  whether  in  making 
a  spinning  wheel,  or  a  loom  for  the  manufacture  of  homespun, 
or  in  building  a  house,  and  withal  fond  of  natural  scenery,  and 
a  lover  of  poetry  and  of  all  good  popular  reading.  His  "twin," 
Hosea,  is  described  as  "an  erect,  muscular  lad  of  vigorous 
health  and  ruddy  countenance,  with  dark  hair  and  blue  eyes  in 
which  a  pleasing  light  gleamed."  ^ 

In  1851,  in  a  leading  editorial  in  the  Trumpet,  Thomas 
Whittemore  spoke  of  Asahel  Ballou  as  "  one  of  the  brightest 
examples  of  virtue  and  integrity,"  and  again,  eight  years  later, 
he  says :  "  Asahel  was  of  the  happiest,  tenderest  disposition, 
which  endeared  him  to  all  who  knew  him."  ^     His  was,  nevei- 

1  The  Trumpet  and  Universalist  Magazine,  Boston,  April  5, 1851. 
2Sa£ford's  "  Hosea  Ballou:  A  Marvellous  Life  Story,"  p.  21. 
*  The  Trumpet,  June  18, 1859. 


Hi 


N 


"m^'^r 


ST.  MARY'S,  ASHFORD,  KENT,  ENGLAND. 


ANCESTRY  AND  INHEBITED    TENDENCIES.  17 

theless,  a  strong  character,  and  not  very  unlike  his  line  of 
Ballou  ancestors,  who  have  been  wittily  described  as  "an 
undrivable,  unhurryable  race."  He  was  slow  in  reaching  a 
position,  and  firm  in  maintaining  it. 

But  dearer  than  Asahel's  fiiendship  for  his  "  twin,"  Hosea, 
became  his  love  for  a  slight,  auburn-haired,  blue-eyed  girl, 
Martha  Starr,  daughter  of  Captain  Comfort  Starr,  who  was  five 
years  his  junior.  They  were  near  neighbors.  The  district 
school,  held  a  month  in  one  farmhouse,  then  a  month  in  another 
through  the  neighborhood,  they  attended  together,  and  later 
perhaps  in  a  schoolhouse ;  the  Baptist  church  on  the  outskirts 
of  the  little  village  both  attended.  They  had  congenial  tastes; 
she  was  of  good  family  and  in  every  way  worthy,  and  Decem- 
ber 3,  1795,  they  were  married.  She  was  of  domestic  habits 
and  a  devoted  wife. 

On  his  mother's  side  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  had  four  grandfathers 
named  Comfort  Starr.  The  first  of  them  was  Comfort  Starr, 
"chirurgeon"  (surgeon),  who,  in  1631,  was  warden  of  St. 
Mary's  in  "  Eshitisford"  (now  Ashford),  near  Canterbury, 
England,  and  at  present  distinguished  as  the  home  of  Britain's 
poet  laureate.  In  1634  he  was  one  of  a  committee  chosen  to 
repair  the  beautiful  church,  for  it  was  then  already  ancient,  its 
tombs  bearing  date  1490,  1564,  and  1591  respectively. 

On  March  21,,  1634-5,  under  an  act  then  in  force,  the  follow- 
ing certificate  was  filed  at  the  seaport  of  Sandwich  in  Kent :  — 

"  Comfort  Starr  of  Ashford,  chirurgeon,  Three  children  and 
Three  servants,  embarked  themselves  in  the  good  ship  called 
the  Hercules  of  Sandwich,  of  the  burthen  of  200  tons,  John 
Witherly,  master,  and  therein  transported  from  Sandwich  to 
the  Plantation  called  New  England  in  America,  with  the  certif- 
icates from  the  ministers  where  they  last  dwelt  of  their  con- 
versation and  conformity  to  the  Orders  and  discipline  of  the 
Church,  and  that  they  had  taken  the  Oath  of  Allegiance  and 


]8  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

Supremacy."  But  his  house  and  lands  in  Old  England  he 
always  retained. 

Arrived  in  New  England,  Dr.  Comfort  Starr  settled  in  New 
Towne,  shortly  called  Cambridge,  near  the  tree  under  whose 
branches  the  elections  of  the  colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay  were 
held.  As  a  Puritan,  it  appears,  he  sought  to  bring  about 
reforms  within  the  Church  of  England,  but  three  years  ^  later 
joined  the  Separatists  or  Pilgrims  and  became  a  neighbor  of 
Captain  Myles  Standish  and  William  Alden  at  Duxbury.^  In 
1642  he  was  deputy  from  Duxbury  to  the  General  Court,  as 
the  quaint  record  recites,  "  to  pwide  forces  against  the  Indians 
for  an  offensive  and  defensive  Warr." 

After  some  years  the  doctor  settled  in  Boston  on  "  the  high- 
way leading  to  the  Charlestown  Ferry."  His  "  dwelling  house 
and  ye  little  house  [office?]  adjoining"  were  on  the  west  side 
of  Prince  Street,  and  the  land  ran  down  to  the  "  mill  pond." 
In  natural  attractiveness  and  social  distinction  the  location  is 
to  be  compared  with  the  water  side  of  Beacon  Street  in  these 
later  days.  We  have  a  pleasing  picture  of  his  domestic  life 
there  and  of  his  large  professional  practice.^  Of  books  he  had 
a  goodly  number,  and  it  is  important  that  at  the  beginning  he 
moulded  the  traditions  of  the  family  in  favor  of  education. 
What  part  he  may  have  taken,  in  1636,  in  founding  the  infant 
college,  near  his  house  in  Cambridge,  we  do  not  certainly 
know  ;  but  of  his  sons,  —  Thomas,  Comfort,  and  John,  —  Com- 
fort spent  the  four  years  1643-47  *  in  the  new  college  to  which 
Rev.  John  Harvard  had  lately  given  his  name,  and  when.  May 
31, 1650,  the  present  Charter  ^  of  the  "  President  and  Fellows  of 

•  See  deeds  and  grants  dated  June  19,  .July  2,  and  August  7,  lOSS,  in  Plymouth  Records. 
-See  deed  in  Pilgrim  Hall,  Starr  to  Wadsworth,  witnessed  by  Standish.    It  mentions 

the  "  mantion  and  dwelling  lious,"  also  "  orchards,  Barnes,  outhouses,"  etc. 
3  See  inventory  in  Suffolk  Probate  Records. 
^See  Sibley's  "  Harvard  (graduates,"  vol.  I,  p.  1G5. 

*  See  original  Charter  in  the  Librarian's  office.  Gore  Hall,  and  copies  in  all  Harvard 


ANCESTRY  AND  INHERITED    TENDENCIES.  19 

Harvard  College  "  was  granted  by  the  General  Court,  he  was 
one  of  the  seven  original  incorporators,  with  rights  of  *•'  per- 
petual succession."  Thomas  and  John  were  also  well  edu- 
cated, the  former  having  been  appointed  "  chirurgeon,"  May 
17,  1637,  at  twenty  years  of  age,  in  "  the  voyage  against 
the  Pequots ";  the  latter  was  a  builder  in  Boston.  Dr. 
Comfort  Starr's  deep  solicitude  for  the  welfare  and  educa- 
tion of  his  children,  and  particularly  of  his  grandchildren,  is 
shown  in  his  will,i  a  venerable  document  which  does  great 
credit  to  his  head  and  heart.  "•  In  the  name  of  God,  Amen," 
it  begins,  and  continues  in  quaint  phrase  :  "  The  two  and  twen- 
tyeth  day  of  April  in  the  year  one  thousand,  sixe  hundred 
fiftie  &  nyne,  I,  Comfort  Starr  of  the  towne  of  Boston  in  the 
County  of  Suffolke  in  New  England,"  thus  describing  himself 
a  few  months  before  he  died.-  To  each  of  his  twenty-four 
grandchildren  he  makes  liberal  bequests  ;  to  each  of  his  orphan 
grandchildren  "'  Ten  pounds  a  yeere  ";  ^  to  his  "•  Grand  Child, 
Simon  Eire,  sixe  pounds  p.  annii  to  be  paid  him  yeerely,  untill  he 
come  vnto  the  age  of  eighteen  yeeres,  it  being  so  given  by  me 
vnto  him,  for  ye  advancement,  helpe,  and  furthering  him  in 
Learning,  to  be  paid  yeerely  by  my  Executor  [John  Starr] 
hereafter  named.  ...  But  my  mynde  &  will  is  that  if  the  said 
Simon  Eire  desist  going  forward  in  Learning,  that  is,  that  he  do 
not  go  into  some  Gramer  Schoole,  &  to  some  Academia,  or  to 
be  with  some  godly  Minister,  whereby  he  may  be  instructed  in 
the  Toungs,  Arts,  and  Sciences,  then  the  said  Annuall  pay- 
ment of  the  said  Sixe  pounds  shall  cease."     What  a  hallowed 

University  catalogues.  It  is  amusiug  now  to  read  on  the  certified  copy  in  the  English 
Public  Record  Office  this  endorsement:  "  No  power  given  in  this  Charter  to  confer  degrees 
unless  under  the  name  By-laws." 

1  It  is  No.  233  in  Suffolk  I^robate  Records.  In  the  past  year  I  have  had  facsimiles 
made  which  are  highly  prized  by  many  of  his  descendants. 

-  January  2, 1659-60.  He  was  buried  near  his  "  late  wife"  Elizabeth,  in  King's  Chapel 
Burial  Ground,  Boston. 

3  "  A  yeere  "  the  will  clearly  reads,  —  not  "  apiece  "  as  the  recorder  copied  it. 


20  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

benediction  became  those  traditions  !  Hardly  second  to  the 
importance  Dr.  Starr  attaches  to  the  higher  education  of  his 
descendants  is  the  atmosphere  of  devout  faith  in  Almighty 
God  which  pervades  his  will.  He  gives  "  t^nto  Samuell  Starr, 
my  Large  Booke  of  Marters,  with  ye  frame  belonging  there- 
vnto,"  a  book  then  highly  prized. 

Dr.  Starr's  daughter  Hannah  married  John  Cutt,  son  of 
Richard,  of  Strawberry  Bank,  who  was  a  member  of  Cromwell's 
Parliament.  He  was  one  of  the  "  foure  or  five  "  richest  men  at 
Portsmouth,  and  in  1679  was  appointed,  by  Royal  Commission, 
President  of  His  Majesty's  Province  of  New  Hampshire.  His 
son,  John  Starr,  married  Martha  Bunker,  daughter  of  George 
Bunker,  owner  of  Bunker  Hill,  for  whom  the  famous  hill  was 
named. 

Two  years  after  Dr.  Comfort  Starr  died,  his  son  John  had  a 
son  born  into  his  family  at  Boston,  the  fifth  of  seven  children, 
whom  he  named  Comfort  Starr.  In  character  and  intellect  he 
proved  worthy  of  the  honored  name.  His  mother's  sister,  widow 
of  Eleazer  Lusher  of  Dedham,  being  childless,  made  him  resid- 
uary legatee  of  her  estate  by  will  dated  January  8,  1672-3, 
when  he  was  eleven  years  old.  She  gave  him  her  "dwelling 
house,  orchard,  home  lot,"  etc.,  ..."  to  be  delivered  unto 
him  at  the  age  of  21  years."  So  it  happened  that  the  third 
Comfort  Starr  left  his  father's  home  in  Boston  and  settled  in 
Dedham.  He  became  a  deacon  in  the  church,  held  several  im- 
portant civil  offices,  and  was  accounted  one  of  the  wealthy  men 
of  the  town.  There,  in  the  suburbs  of  Boston,  his  son  Com- 
fort 1  was  born,  who  in  turn  —  having,  in  1723,  bought  1,000 
acres  of  land  in  Windham  County,  Connecticut,  and  settled 
there — had  a  son  Comfort,  the  father  of  Martha  Starr.  The 
family  traditions  which  had  been  handed  down  through  a  long 

1  The  records  of  the  Killingly  church,  in  1728,  read,  "  Comfort  Starr  and  others  worked 
on  the  new  meetiuL'-house." 


ANCESTRY  AND  INHEBITED    TENDENCIES.  21 

line  of  worthy  ancestors  he  too  cherished  —  high  ideals  of 
manhood,  belief  in  the  value  of  education,  and  reverence  for 
things  holy.  Martha  (Starr)  Ballou  was  "  endowed  by  nature 
with  a  gifted  mind."  ^ 

Who  can  estimate  the  strength  of  the  "  crimson  thread  "  of 
kinship  in  determining  the  destiny  of  individuals,  as  of  nations? 
On  both  the  paternal  and  the  maternal  side,  Hosea  Ballou, 
2d,  came  of  long  acclimated  and  the  purest  of  New  England 
stock.  He  was  never  known  to  boast  this  fact ;  his  innate 
modesty  would  not  permit  it.  But  so  sure  as  he  inherited  from 
his  ancestors  a  physical  constitution  which  enabled  him  in  after 
years  to  endure  hard  work  and,  indeed,  perform  herculean 
labors,  so  sure  is  it  that  he  inherited  from  them  an  almost 
irresistible  bias,  which,  in  a  measure,  determined  the  intel- 
lectual, the  moral,  and  the  spiritual  quality  of  the  man. 

1  Hosea  Faxon  Ballou,  in  Trumpet,  November  2, 1839. 


CHAPTER   11. 

EARLY   ENVIRONMENT. 

To  see  New  England  at  her  best  one  needs  to  rest  day  after 
day  in  mid-autumn  among  her  famed  mountains  in  some  deep 
valley  and  calmly  watch  the  ever-changing  foliage.  What  bril- 
liant decoration,  harmoniously  blending  everywhere  to  meet  the 
dawning  consciousness  of  infancy !  What  Titian  could  so 
beautify  the  nuptial  chamber  !  I  have  been  awed  by  the  sur- 
passing loveliness  and  undimmed  freshness  of  the  mural  decora- 
tions of  a  long-buried  palace  at  Pompeii  as  I  stood  by  on  the 
ancient  pavement  and  saw  the  workmen  remove  load  after  load 
of  Vesuvian  cinders,  and  as  the  ashes  slowly  rolled  away  our 
eyes  were  the  first  in  eighteen  hundred  years  to  see  the  masterly 
work  of  some  Greek  artist,  possibly  Apelles  or  Protogenes. 
What  prince  might  not  be  well  and  happily  born  in  such  sur- 
roundings to  cement  the  love  of  two  lives !  But  open  your 
eyes  and  you  shall  see  that  Nature  has  done  more  than  Greek 
art  could  ever  have  done  to  beautify  the  hills  and  valleys  of 
rugged  New  England,  and  nestled  in  many  a  valley  can  be 
found  the  brilliant  nuptial  chamber  —  still  bright  as  in  years 
long  past  —  touched  by  the  rosy -fingered  Aurora,  goddess  of 
the  morn,  where  a  great  man  was  born. 

Such  was  the  birthplace  of  Hosea  Ballou,  the  second  of  the 
name.  It  was  in  the  town  of  Guilford  in  the  southeastern  corner 
of  Vermont,  which,  from  the  "New  Hampshire  Grants,"  five 
years  before  his  birth  became  a  State.  Near  by  was  Fort 
Dummer  which  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony  had  built  on  its 
northern  frontier  to  repel  attacks  of  the  Indians  and  to  protect 


EARLY  ENVIRONMENT.  23 

the  few  settlers,  from  Grand  Monadnock  in  the  east  to  the 
Green  Mountains  in  the  west.  Halifax  adjoins  it  on  the  west, 
Brattleboro  on  the  north,  and  on  the  east  are  the  towns  of 
Vernon,  Vt.,  and  Hinsdale,  Winchester,  and  Richmond,  N.  H., 
in  the  order  named.  Prior  to  1787  all  those  towns  were  in 
Massachusetts  ;  but  for  the  removal  of  the  boundary  line  a  few 
miles  south  both  Hosea  Ballous  had  been  natives  of  Massachu- 
setts. That  great  waterway,  the  Connecticut  River,  marked 
the  line  of  march  to  and  from  Canada,  and  here  in  1704  passed 
Deerfield's  Redeemed  Captive,^  who,  strange  to  say,  had  been 
reared  in  the  identical  house  at  Roxbury  where  John  Eliot,  the 
*'  Apostle  to  the  Indians,"  lived,  probably  spent  the  first  night 
on  that  tragic  march  to  a  living  death. 

But  hardships  which  men  then  living  there  had  endured  no 
doubt  made  a  deeper  impression  on  the  future  historian.  Guil- 
ford, Halifax,  and  one  hundred  and  thirty -six  other  towns  west 
of  the  Connecticut  River  had  been  chartered  and  sold  by 
Benning  Wentworth,  governor  of  the  Province  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, which  belonged  to  the  Province  of  New  York,  and  to 
which  he  had  not  the  shadow  of  a  legal  claim.^  Settlers  from 
Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  and  Connecticut,  and  a  few  from 
Richmond,  N.  H.,  were  the  innocent  purchasers.  They  built 
houses  and  barns,  and  each  grantee  was  to  plant  live  in  every 
fifty  acres  of  his  grant  within  five  years,  and  was  also  to  pay 
rent  of  one  ear  of  Indian  corn  per  acre  annually,  besides  one 
shilling  promotion  money  for  each  one  hundred  acres.  In  each 
township  Wentworth  also  appropriated  to  himself  and  members 
of  his  family  considerable  tracts  of  land  which  he  hastened  to 

1  See  Rev.  John  Williams'  "  Redeemed  Captive,"  p.  S. 

2  See  grant  of  Charles  II  to  Duke  of  York,  March  12,  1634-5,  also  N.  H.  Provincial 
Papers,  vol.  I,  p.  23,  and  State  Papers  of  N.  H.,  vol.  XXIII,  p.  94,  for  grants  by  President 
and  Council  of  New  England  to  John  Mason,  November  7,  1629,  and  April  22,  1G35,  and 
to  his  son-in-law,  John  Wollaston,  April  18, 1635,  and  Belknap's  "  History  of  New  Hamp- 
shire," p.  164. 


24  HOSEA   BALLOU,  2(1,  D.D. 

turn  into  cash  at  the  earliest  opportunity,  at  whatever  price  he 
could  get.  Thus  it  is  estimated  that  during  four  years,  as 
governor  of  New  Hampshire,  he  gave  fully  seventy  thou- 
sand acres  of  these  lands,  west  of  the  Connecticut  River, 
to  himself  and  seventy  thousand  acres  more  to  members  of 
his  family.  In  Guilford  he  took  five  hundred  acres  comprising 
Governor's  Mountain.  His  motive  appears  to  have  been  per- 
sonal avarice  and  greed  of  power.  The  people  complained,  his 
biographer  reluctantly  admits,  that  "  too  many  of  the  important 
offices  were  in  the  hands  of  his  family."  ^  He  appears  to  have 
been  a  spoilsman  of  that  dangerous  type  which,  even  in 'modern 
times,  we  discover  waging  a  stealthy  warfare  against  the  public 
weal. 

Had  we  space  it  would  be  interesting  and  instructive  to  make 
a  critical  study,  as  no  doubt  Hosea  Ballon,  2d,  did,  of  the  plan 
of  these  townships,  each  six  miles  square  like  the  modern  town- 
ship of  the  Government  Survey,  but  it  is  divided  into  sixty- 
four  equal  shares  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  each  usually, 
instead  of  thirty -six  equal  shares  of  six  hundred  and  forty  acres 
each,  the  modern  "  section."  There  were  the  glebe  lands,  the 
lands  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gosj)el  in 
Foreign  Parts,  the  lands  allotted  to  the  first  settled  minister, 
and  the  public  school  lands.  By  these  charters  power  was 
vested  in  "  the  inhabitants,"  and  each  town  had  the  usual  New 
England  right  of  government  in  March  meeting.  But  appar- 
ently Wentworth  never  anticipated  that  they  would  claim  the 
right  of  New  Hampshire  towns  to  representation  in  the  Pro- 
vincial Assembly,  and  they  were  never  granted  the  right  of  such 
representation  in  New  York.  But  had  Wentworth  and  his 
successors  protected  his  grantees  in  their  property  rights  they 
would  have  been  content. 

'  "  Wentworth  Genealogy,"  vol.  I,  p.  285. 


EABLY  ENVIRONMENT.  25 

The  misfortunes  which  befell  settlers  in  Guilford  and  else- 
where in  the  "  New  Hampshire  Grants,"  as  a  result  of  Went- 
worth's  conduct,  have  no  parallel  in  American  colonial  history. 
Many  of  the  original  grantees,  finding  their  title  insecure,  and 
that  the  government  of  New  York  lay  claim  to  that  territory, 
made  quick  sales  at  low  prices  by  quitclaim  deeds  to  unsuspect- 
ing immigrants.  When  the  repeated  letters  of  protest  from  the 
governor  of  New  York  to  the  governor  of  New  Hampshire  were 
enforced  and  confirmed  in  1764,  by  a  royal  decree  of  the  King  in 
Council,  that  the  Connecticut  River  was  the  dividing  line  be- 
tween New  York  and  New  Hampshire,  the  inhabitants  appealed 
in  1765,  1766,  and  again  in  1767,  to  the  governor  of  New  York 
for  re-grants,  but  he  began  to  grant  patents  to  others  to  Guil- 
%)rd  lands  where  the  forests  had  been  cleared,  fields  cultivated, 
orchards  started,  and  houses  and  barns  built  by  the  Green 
Mountain  Boys,  thus  increasing  the  value  of  the  lands  ten  and 
even  twenty  fold.  In  due  time  the  new  patentees  appeared  to 
take  possession  of  the  lands  and  improvements  without  com- 
pensation to  the  occupants,  —  peaceably  if  they  could,  otherwise 
by  force.  One  Colonel  Howard  received  from  New  York  a  patent 
to  one  thousand  two  hundred  acres  in  Guilford,  which  resulted 
in  depriving  a  number  of  inhabitants  of  all  their  property.  To 
the  plain,  honest,  hard-working  first  settlers,  unaccustomed  to 
legal  Ji7iesse,  it  seemed  preposterous  that  they  should  be  thus 
driven  from  their  homes  which  they  had  bouglit  and  paid  for 
with  their  own  money.  But  their  original  grantor,  Wentworth, 
had  no  valid  title,  and  therefore  his  grantees,  the  original  pro- 
prietors, to  whom  they  had  paid  their  money,  could  not  give  a 
valid  title ;  their  title  rested  on  little  if  anything  more  than 
"  squatter  sovereignty."  Still  the  settlers  refused  to  yield  pos- 
session to  the  newcomers  from  New  York,  and  united  to  defend 
their  homes.  The  last  memorial  of  the  inhabitants  of  Guilford 
to  the  governor  of  New  York  was  dated  May  11, 1772.     It  was 


26  ROSEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

fruitless.  However,  the  government  of  New  York  endeavored 
to  pacify  them  by  offering  to  grant  patents  to  the  occupants  of 
the  farms  tliemselves,  but  at  a  large  advance  over  the  price  that 
had  been  paid  to  Governor  Wentworth,  years  before,  for  the 
same  lands  in  a  wild  state.  Few  consented  to  buy  their  own 
farms  and  pay  for  them  a  second  time.  The  governor  and 
council  of  New  York  set  a  time  limit  of  three  months  within 
which  settlers  might  bring  their  deeds  to  Albany  and  prove 
their  claims,  all  claims  not  so  presented  to  be  legally  barred. 
Under  this  ruling  most  of  the  settlers  forfeited  their  titles. 
Large  grants  were  now  made  to  speculators,  and  writs  of  eject- 
ment were  served  on  the  settlers.  The  Green  Mountain  Boys 
now  sent  a  representative  to  England  to  lay  their  grievance 
before  the  king  in  person.  George  III  granted  the  petition  of 
the  Green  Mountain  Boys  so  far  as  to  interdict  the  granting  of 
any  more  patents  there  by  the  governor  of  New  York.  But  did 
the  king  recognize  as  valid,  then,  the  patents  already  granted  by 
the  governor  of  New  York  ?  So  the  new  grantees  interpreted 
the  order,  and  the  court  at  Albany  sustained  their  interpreta- 
tion. Ejectment  suit  followed  ejectment  suit,  and  as  often  the 
defendants,  the  original  settlers,  defaulted,  for  they  felt  no  con- 
fidence in  the  justice  of  New  York  courts,  where  the  sympathies 
and  the  financial  interests  often  of  judges  and  juries  were 
against  them.  The  settlers  were  urged  to  make  terms  with 
their  new  landlords.  "  The  gods  of  the  valleys  are  not  the  gods 
of  the  hills,"  was  Ethan  Allen's  reply  to  such  advice,  and  when 
in  1770  the  sheriff  first  attempted  to  serve  a  writ  of  possession, 
it  was  found  necessary  to  call  to  his  aid  the  posse  comitatus  to 
overcome  the  armed  "rioters"  who  had  come  to  the  rescue  of 
their  neighbor,  and  who  more  than  once  in  such  cases  treated 
the  sheriff  to  a  "  chastisement  with  the  twigs  of  the  wilderness." 
To  uphold  the  dignity  of  the  law,  the  governor  of  New  York 
issued  proclamation  after  proclamation,  offering   a   bounty  of 


EABLY  ENVIRONMENT.  27 

twenty  pounds  first,  then  fifty  (and  in  the  case  of  Ethan  Allen 
one  hundred  and  fifty)  pounds,  to  any  person  who  should  appre- 
hend and  secure  the  "  rioters  "  and  "  felons."  Nothing  daunted, 
the  Green  Mountain  Boys  offered  a  bounty  of  five  pounds  to  any 
person  who  should  secure  and  deliver  the  attorney-general  of 
New  York  to  them.  The  position  of  the  settlers  was  tersely 
stated  by  Ethan  Allen  as  follows :  "  If  we  do  not  oppose  the 
sheriff  and  his  posse,  he  takes  immediate  possession  of  our 
houses  and  farms ;  if  we  do,  we  are  immediately  indicted  as 
rioters."'  Riots  and  bloodshed  were  of  frequent  occurrence. 
Many  of  the  Guilford  people  finally  tired  of  guerilla  warfare,  and 
appear,  through  emissaries  from  New  York  sent  among  them, 
to  have  reached  some  sort  of  a  settlement  with  the  New  York 
patentees.  Not  *so  Comfort  Starr.  He  was  captain  of  militia^ 
and  in  1773  was  in  command  of  a  company  which  went  to  West- 
minster to  break  up  an  English  court  then  in  session  there. 

The  public  mind  in  Guilford,  Halifax,  and  adjoining  towns 
became  more  and  more  inflamed.  Law  and  order  were  un- 
known. Everybody  took  sides.  Neighbor  was  arrayed  against 
neighbor,  sometimes  brother  against  brother.  Neither  party 
regarded  the  property  rights  of  the  other ;  physicians  were  not 
allowed  to  visit  the  sick  without  a  pass  from  the  appointed 
committees,  and  inflammatory  handbills  were  spread  broadcast, 
adding  fuel  to  the  flame. 

To  quell  the  insurrection  against  "  the  pretended  State  of 
Vermont,"  in  the  summer  of  1783,  General  Ethan  Allen  came 
over  the  mountains  from  Bennington  to  Guilford  with  one 
hundred  armed  men,  and  on  reaching  Guilford  issued  the  fol- 
lowing proclamation  :  — 

"  I,  Ethan  Allen,  declare  that  unless  the  people  of  Guilford 
peaceably  submit  to  the  authority  of  Vermont,  the  town  shall 
be  made  as  desolate  as  were  the  cities  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah, 
by  God!" 


28  HOSEA  BALLOU,  2d.  D.D. 

Shots  were  exchanged,  but  Allen  quickly  established  martial 
law,  and  seizing  the  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  produce,  etc.,  of  the 
J  Yorkers,  sold  them  for  the  benefit  of  Vermont.  September  23, 
1784,  the  following  vote  of  the  town  I  find  in  the  Guilford 
records,  namely :  "  that  the  collector  of  the  old  town  tax  for 
the  year  1781  be  directed  to  take  the  same  in  grain  att  the 
selaing  price :  wheate  4/8  par  bushel,  Rye  att  3/4  par  bushel, 
corn  2/5  par  bushel,  and  flax  att  0/8  par  pound." 

When  Cornwallis  surrendered  to  Washington  at  Yorktown, 
the  original  proprietors  of  the  "  New  Hampshire  Grants  "  or  their 
grantees  had  held  adverse  possession  of  their  homes  for  nearly 
twenty  years,  but  the  validity  of  New  Hampshire  titles 
was  not  affirmed  until  1785.^  Titles  were  more  secure  how- 
ever. Immigration  increased.  But  for  the  rest  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century  and  well  down  into  the  present  century,  the 
people  retained  a  vivid  recollection  of  their  final  victory,  and 
the  air  in  Guilford  and  Halifax  was  teeming  with  tales  of  hero- 
ism. Many  of  the  actors  in  that  long  struggle  for  the  posses- 
sion of  home  and  for  statehood  still  went  in  and  out  among  the 
people,  and  before  the  blazing  log  in  the  big,  open  fireplace 
many  a  long  winter's  evening  was  spent,  with  apples  and  cider 
to  cheer,  listening  to  some  tale  of  hairbreadth  escape  in 
which  the  narrator  himself  took  part.  Such  an  atmosphere 
and  such  scenes  make  a  vivid  and  lasting  impression  on  the 
plastic  mind  of  childhood,  and  so  they  did  on  young  Hosea 
Ballon,  the  self-educated  historian.  In  earliest  childhood  he 
acquired  a  courage  that  could  look  obstacles  —  to  others  insur- 
mountable —  in  the  face  without  shrinking. 

For  all  time  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  will  be  honored  for 
"what  was  accomplished  "  by  a  bold  and  hardy  enterprise,  and  an 
indomitable  spirit  of  freedom,  which  have  rarely  been  equaled ; 

'^  See  "  Governor  and  Council  of  Vermont,"  vol.  I,  p.  17. 


EARLY  ENVIRONMENT.  29 

and  afterwards  by  the  steady  perseverance  of  an  enlightened 
and  industrious  population."  ^ 

Guilford  is  encircled  by  hills.  A  line  of  hills  on  the  south 
separates  it  from  Massachusetts.  The  foothills  of  the  Green 
Mountains  come  down  almost  to  its  western  border,  culminat- 
ing in  two  peaks,  Richmond  Hill  and  Governor's  Mountain. 
Extending  six  miles  along  its  eastern  border,  and  about  one 
mile  wide,  separating  the  town  from  the  Connecticut  valley,  is 
East  Mountain.  As  one  looks  north  he  sees  hills  rising  tier 
upon  tier,  higher  and  higher,  and  in  the  dim  distance  the  lofty 
peaks  of  the  Franconia  Range  and  the  Green  Mountains.  The 
prophet  spoke  volumes  for  noble  manhood  and  high  ideals 
when  he  said,  "  I  will  lift  mine  eyes  unto  the  hills."  Guilford 
is  the  republic  of  Switzerland  in  miniature.  Nature  built  up 
barriers  to  separate  the  town  from  foreign  influence.  The  sur- 
face of  the  town  is  rolling,  often  hilly,  but  the  broad  sweep  of 
sloping  hillside  is  fertile,  and  the  rich  foliage  of  the  cornfield, 
and  a  billowy  sea  of  wheat,  barley,  or  rye,  waving  in  the  breeze, 
are  seen  on  every  hillside  and  in  every  valley.  Enormous 
apple  orchards,  beautiful  and  fragrant  with  blossoms  in  spring, 
or  laden  with  luscious  grafted  fruit  in  autumn,  abound  every- 
where. The  sturdy  maple  is  the  forest  tree  one  sees  most  often, 
with  its  bright  autumn  foliage.  The  beech,  the  hemlock,  the 
graceful  elm,  the  walnut,  the  butternut,  and  the  ash,  with 
rarely  a  birch  and  a  pine,  diversify  the  landscape.  The  hills 
are  now  largely  wooded  ;  where  cleared,  there  is  excellent 
grazing  for  horses,  cattle,  and  sheep.  Water-courses  abound, 
and  aged  people  there  tell  us  that  in  the  olden  time,  before  the 
steam  mill  and  the  lumbermen  had  stripped  the  hills  and 
mountains  of  the  primeval  forests,  the  streams  were  fully 
twice  their  present  volume.     The  evidence  collected  by  scien- 

1  Sparks'  "  Ethan  Allen,"  p.  229,  ed.  1856. 


30  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

tists  tends  to  confirm  their  assertion.  The  principal  stream  is 
Green  River,  which  flows  in  a  southeasterly  course  through  the 
northern  part  of  Halifax,  now  slowly,  in  a  broad,  open  valley, 
and  oftener  foaming  and  dashing  along  its  rocky  bed  down  the 
narrow  defile  between  precipitous  hillsides  that  converge  to  its 
very  banks.  Entering  Guilford  in  the  northwestern  part  of 
the  township,  south  of  Richmond  Hill,  the  valleys  become 
broader  and  more  fertile,  and  it  now  takes  a  southerly  course 
along  the  westerly  side  of  the  township,  on  its  way  to  join  the 
Deerfield,  and  shortly  the  Connecticut  in  Greenfield,  Mass. 
Great  Brook  takes  its  rise  in  the  hills  beyond  the  north- 
western borders  of  Guilford,  and  flows  down,  a  broad  stream, 
winding  through  the  picturesque  valley  between  Governor's 
Mountain  and  Richmond  Hill,  and  emptying  its  waters  into 
Green  River  where  that  stream  sharply  turns  from  an  easterly 
to  a  southerly  course,  soon  after  entering  the  limits  of  the 
town.  Broad  Brook  with  its  branches  flows  through  the  north- 
ern and  eastern  part  of  the  town,  and  Fall  River  skirts  East 
Mountain.  But  Great  Brook,  and  especially  Green  River,  are 
dear  to  us  for  their  association  with  the  birth  and  childhood  of 
Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  and  the  intense  love  he  ever  bore  them. 

At  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  Guilford  was  enjoy- 
ing the  golden  age  of  its  prosperity.  It  was  more  populous 
than  Brattleboro,  and  one  of  the  most  populous  towns  in  Ver- 
mont. In  the  Hinesburgh  school  district  there  were  sixty  to 
eighty  school  children.  The  iron  horse  had  not  then  come  to 
determine  the  inland  centres  of  population,  and  it  was  to  be 
long  years  before  the  ends  of  the  continent  would  be  brought 
near  and  bound  together  by  the  steel  bands  of  the  railway. 
Great  Brook  in  Guilford  then  furnished  power  for  two  sawmills, 
a  gristmill,  a  carding  machine,  and  a  woolen  mill,  all  within  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  Ballou  homestead,  and  more  manu- 
facturing in   chair  stock,   in  spinning   wheels   and   ponderous 


EABLY  ENVIRONMENT.  31 

looms,  in  woolen  goods  and  in  the  product  of  grist  and  flour- 
ing mills  was  done  there  than  at  Brattleboro  or  Manchester  or 
Lowell  or  Lewiston  or  Holyoke  or  Buffalo  or  Minneapolis. 
Indeed,  most  of  those  now  thriving  cities  had  not  then  found  a 
place  on  the  map.  In  manufacturing,  those  were  the  days  of 
small  things.  Man  had  not  then  the  audacity  to  attempt  to 
bridle  the  Connecticut,  the  Merrimac,  or  the  Androscoggin, 
much  less  the  Mississippi,  the  Father  of  Waters,  and  the  floods 
of  the  Great  Lakes  concentrated  at  Niagara  Falls. 

Benjamin  and  Asahel  Ballou  at  Guilford  manufactured  on  a 
small  scale,  traded  in  a  small  way,  and,  as  was  the  way  of  the 
world,  still  looked  to  the  large  farm  (parts  of  four  one-hundred 
acre  lots^)  as  the  chief  means  of  support.  The  young  man,  in 
his  twenty-sixth  year  when  Hosea  was  born,  in  1796,  had  not 
yet  attained  to  the  dignity  of  a  real-estate  owner.  The  young 
family  lived  at  home  with  Asahel's  father  and  mother,  Benjamin 
and  Lydia  (Horton)  Ballou,  and  of  the  nine  children,  seven  were 
living ;  and  nearly  all  found  the  comforts  of  a  home  in  that 
large,  square-roofed  house.  The  next  younger  than  Asahel  was 
Mary,  then  in  her  twenty-fourth  year,  who  married  Caleb 
Carpenter ;  Martin  was  nineteen  years  old,  and  four  years  later 
married  Annie  Briant,  of  Marlboro,  Vt.,  and  at  Monroe, 
Mass.,  became  postmaster  for  more  than  thirty  years,  where 
also  he  was  esteemed  as  a  country  squire  and  was  elected 
several  times  a  representative  to  the  Legislature ;  Lydia  was 
seventeen  years  old,  and  later  became  the  wife  of  Jacob  Briant; 
Amy  was  fourteen  years  old,  and  later  became  the  wife  of 
Elisha  Briant ;  Barbara  was  nearing  her  tenth  birthday, 
and  eight  years  later  became  the  wife  of  Daniel  Gore ;  Sarah 
was  seven  years  of  age,  and  as  a  young  woman  became  the 
wife  of  John  Parsons.  Two  boys,  both  named  Benjamin,  had 
died,  the  youngest  when  a   little   less   than   three   years   old, 

1  Lots  Nos.  ]48,  161,  16J,  and  163. 


32  ROSEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

August  19,  1795,  and  a  little  more  than  a  year  before  Hosea, 
the  first  grandchild,  came  to  gladden  the  household.  Loved 
and  petted  by  the  grandparents  and  by  the  uncle  and  aunts, 
the  younger  of  whom  were  like  older  sisters,  the  fond  parents 
saw  their  babe  grow  day  by  day,  basking  in  perpetual  sunshine. 
There  stood  Governor's  Mountain,  a  mighty  sentinel,  and  op- 
posite, Richmond  Hill,  decked  in  their  brilliant  autumnal  garb, 
watching  over  the  little  one  to  delight  his  eyes.  The  music  of 
Great  Brook  sounded  in  his  ears.  From  across  the  road  often 
came  the  sound  of  the  upper  and  nether  millstone,^  grinding 
the  neighbors'  corn.  The  child  early  learned  the  lesson  that 
steady,  persistent  work,  well  directed,  will  surely  yield  abundant 
fruit.  In  the  house,  on  the  farm,  in  the  shop,  in  the  mill,  — 
there  was  industry  everywhere.  Nothing  was  done  in  a  hurry, 
but  everything  in  a  methodical,  orderly  way.  With  such 
environment  the  child  received  his  earliest  and  deepest  im- 
pressions. 

At  this  time  Europe  was  passing  through  the  greatest  change 
in  centuries.  Seven  years  before  his  birth,  the  States  General 
of  France  were  called  together  for  the  first  time  in  one  hundred 
and  seventy-five  years  (1614),  about  the  time  that  his  first  Amer- 
ican ancestor  in  the  direct  male  line  was  born  in  France.  Thanks 
to  that  kinship,  the  rise  and  rapid  progress  of  the  French  Revo- 
lution and  the  unparalleled  conquests  of  the  French  under 
Napoleon  Bonaparte  were  closely  followed  in  the  Ballou 
household.  The  cruel  persecution  of  the  Huguenots  of  the 
seventeenth  century  was  avenged,  and  they  gloried  in  the  new 
France.  All  over  America  the  echoes  of  the  French  wars 
rung,  but  in  the  Ballou  household  those  echoes  were  peculiarly 
audible. 

'  This  gristmill  was  sold  by  Peleg  Hicks,  "  Baptist  Elder,"  to  IK'njamin  Ballou, 
"Traidsman,"  for  twenty -two  pounds,  by  deed  dated  August  29,  17U4,  and  recorded  in 
Book  5,  p.  68,  April  5, 1804.    Only  the  grass-covered  millstones  are  now  left. 


BIRTHPLACE. 


EABLY  ENVIBONMENT.  33 

The  plain,  common  people  of  Guilford  and  vicinity  had  a 
high  average  of  ability,  force  of  character,  and  moral  worth, 
which  they  transmitted  to  their  descendants.  At  Brattleboro, 
Rutherford  Hayes,  grandfather  of  the  future  President,  was 
farmer,  hotel  keeper,  and  by  trade  a  blacksmith,  which  he  called 
"  a  dirty,  black  business,  but  it  brought  white  money."  The 
celebrated  artists,  William  M.  Hunt  and  Larkin  G.  Mead,  were 
born  in  Brattleboro,  a  generation  later.  Besides  the  Carpenters, 
the  Starrs,  and  the  Ballous,  Henry  Seymour,  Royall  Tyler, 
James  Elliot,  and  Micah  Townsend  were  familiar  and  honored 
names  in  Guilford  when  the  subject  of  this  memoir  was  a  child. 

A  third  of  a  mile  or  more  away  from  the  Ballou  home,  over 
the  hill  on  the  east  side  of  Governor's  Mountain,  the  maternal 
grandparents  lived.  Captain  Comfort  Starr,  styled  "  gentleman  " 
in  deeds  and  leases  of  that  date,  and  his  wife,  Judith  Starr. 
In  their  old  age  they  had  given  a  lease  of  the  three-hundred 
acre  farm  ^  to  their  son,  Timothy  Starr,  "  yeoman  "  ;  and  there 
for  sixteen  years  Hosea  continued  to  visit  his  grandparents 
until  the  grandfather,  and  shortly  after  the  grandmother,  died. 
Only  a  half-filled,  grass-grown  cellar  hole,  thirty-six  by  forty- 
eight  feet,  with  an  ancient  apple  tree  and  a  fine  well  of  water 
nearby,  now  mark  the  site  of  their  house.  It  is  known  in  the 
neighborhood  as  "  Starr  Knoll,"  and  by  a  change  of  course  of 
the  highway  to  Brattleboro  it  is  left  far  to  the  right  in  the 
field.  South  and  west  of  it  are  orchards,  east  of  it  a  ravine 
with  remnants  of  a  large  orchard  beyond  in  the  pasture.  As 
far  as  the  eye  can  reach  there  are  orchards  everywhere.  In  its 
day  it  was  also  a  famous  horse  farm.  Of  the  buildings,  only 
the  large  barn  is  now  standing,  after  two  removals,  on  the 
neighboring  Thurber  farm,  the  huge  hewn  timbers  apparently 
as  sound  and  solid  for  the  most  part  as  when  first  put  in  posi- 
tion, perhaps  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  ago.     As  captain  of 

1  Lots  117, 121,  and  147. 


34  ROSEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

militia,  Comfort  Starr  had  been  a  leader  in  the  Revolutionary- 
period  and  in  the  struggle  between  the  Yorkers  and  the  New 
State  men,  and  his  rehearsal  of  those  exciting  events,  in  wliich 
he  had  taken  so  prominent  a  part,^  must  have  made  a  deep 
impression  on  the  child's  mind.  But  if  those  tales  of  war 
which  he  heard  at  his  grandfather's  knee  fired  his  young  soul 
with  patriotism,  he  early  learned  the  brutality  of  war,  and  per- 
haps the  strain  of  Quaker  blood  in  his  veins  made  him  all  the 
more  ardent  a  lover  of  peace. 

In  matters  theological  the  Ballous  and  Starrs  had  been  Bap- 
tists ;  but  while  his  father  and  mother  had  been  members  of  a 
Baptist  church,  and  Benjamin  Ballou  a  Baptist  teacher,  it 
happened  that  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  was  born  into  a  Universalist 
household.  The  change  of  religious  faith  was  due  first,  to 
Caleb  Rich,  a  farmer  in  the  nortlieasterly  part  of  Warwick, 
Mass.,  near  the  township  lines  of  Richmond  and  Winchester, 
N.  H.,  who,  about  1781,  began  to  preach  Universalism  in 
schoolhouses,  private  houses,  and  barns  in  those  towns  and  in 
Orange,  Mass.,  for  the  modest  compensation  of  about  twenty 
dollars  a  year ;  second,  to  James  Ballou  of  Richmond,  and 
Silas  ^  and  James,  his  "  somewhat  famous "  sons,  who  were 
among  the  first  of  Mr.  Rich's  converts ;  and  chiefly  to  two 
other  converts,  David  and  Hosea,  Rev.  Maturin  Ballou's 
younger  sons.  But  it  was  the  younger  James  Ballou,  "the 
Conjurer,"  who  was  able  to  secure  the  attention  of  these 
Baptists.     He  was  the  grandfather  of  James  A.  Garfield,  and 

>  See  "  The  Rangers,  or  The  Tory's  Daughter,"  pp.  78-124.    Published  by  B.  B.  Mussey. 

»"  Silas  was  a  rustic  poet,  whose  songs,  or  verses  as  they  were  called,  used  to  be  circu- 
lated iu  uiauuscript,  and  sung,  forty  or  lit'ty  miles  around,"  said  Hosea  Ballou,  2d  (in  the 
Quarterly,  April,  1854,  p.  ISO).  He  taught  "  universal  salvation  on  the  ciebt  and  credit 
plan,  or  by  bubstiiutiou  and  federal  headship."  He  was  the  author  of  the  first  Uuiversal- 
ist  hymn  book  published  in  America  (1797),  which  contains  150  original  hymns,  often 
uncouth,  aud  twenty  of  the  "  Psalms  of  David  turned  into  verse."  See  copy  in  Boston 
Public  Library.—  Hare.  "  Afterwards,"  says  Dr.  Ballou,  "  he  was  one  of  the  committee 
who  composed  the  Universalist  Couveution  Hymn  Book,  published  in  1808." 


EABLY  ENVIBONMENT.  35 

his  mother,  Elizabeth  Ballou  Garfield,^  so  revered  her  father's 
memory  that  she  named  her  first  James,  who  died  two  years 
before  the  future  President  was  born,  for  her  father,  James 
Ballou  Garfield.  But  credit  is  mainly  due  to  David  and  Hosea 
Ballou,  senior .2  In  1791,  it  is  true  of  the  Guilford  as  well  as 
of  the  Richmond  household,  "  The  children  were  diligently 
impressed  with  religious  ideas,  according  to  the  doctrine  and 
sentiments  of  the  Rhode  Island  Calvinistic  Baptists.  Though 
it  was  supposed  that  nothing  but  a  supernatural  conversion, 
after  the  distressful  manner  of  those  times,  could  save  them, 
their  father  was  careful  by  his  prayers,  precepts,  and  example 
to  train  them  uj)  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord.  ...  It  is  difficult 
for  one  who  has  never  stood  in  similar  circumstances  to  con- 
ceive how  commanding,  how  almost  despotic,  is  this  topic 
among  a  generally  religious  community  of  poor  people,  in  a 
new  and  secluded  settlement.'"  ^  Now  David  Ballou  began  to 
preach  Universalism  in  Guilford,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1791, 
Hosea  made  his  second  attempt  at  preaching  at  a  Mr.  Butter- 
field's  house,  about  two  miles  north  of  Benjamin  Ballou's 
home.  Eyewitnesses  often  pictured  that  event  to  the  subject 
of  this  memoir.  It  is  a  family  tradition  that,  for  years,  on 
those  visits  at  Guilford,  they  sat  about  the  fireplace  late  into 
the  tiight,  quoting  texts  and  arguing  pro  and  con.  So  Ben- 
jamin and  Asahel  were  confirmed  in  the  faith. 

David  Ballou  was  "  an  earnest  but  cautious  thinker,"  says 
Hosea   Ballou,  2d.     "  While   young  I  often    listened  to   him, 

iThe  small  one-story  house  where  Mrs.  Garfield  lived  as  a  child  still  stands,  a  half-mile 
from  "  Richmond  Four  Corners,"  on  a  side  road  some  twenty  rods  from  the  highway  lead- 
ing to  North  Orange,  Mass. 

-  David  and  Hosea  Ballou,  senior,  first  attended  a  session  of  the  General  Convention  of 
Unlversalists  in  1791  at  Oxford,  Mass.,  the  birthplace  of  the  Convention.  It  was  at  Oxford, 
also,  that  Bernon,  Bowdoin,  the  two  Faueuils,  and  their  compatriots  founded  that  ill-fated 
colony  of  French  Huguenots  in  1CS5.  At  Oxford,  in  1794,  Hosea  Ballou  was  ordained,  and 
at  Oxford  was  one  nf  his  four  reirular  preaching  stations  for  the  rest  of  the  century. 

s  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  iu  Quarterly,  April,  1854,  p.  178. 


36  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

both  in  public  and  in  private  ;  and,  when  I  recall  the  visage  of 
that  good  man,  my  heart  warms  towards  him  to  this  day."  ^  He 
was  "unselfish,  unaspiring,  devoted,"  and  a  farmer  by  vocation, 
yet  he  traveled  often  thirty  miles  and  preached,  extempore, 
every  Sunday,  but  "he  never  received  much  pecuniary  com- 
pensation, and  often  none."  His  method  was  the  Socratic. 
"Alas,  for  the  opposer  who  once  began  to  answer  the  simple 
and  easy  questions ;  while  he  yet  could  discover  no  dilemma 
towards  which  they  were  carrying  him,  he  suddenly  found  him- 
self fast  enclosed,  helpless,  bound  tight  with  his  own  chain."  ^ 
Hosea  Ballon,  senior,  had  his  first  settlement  at  Dana,  Mass., 
from  1796  to  1803 ;  his  salary  about  five  dollars  a  Sunday. 
Meanwhile  his  study  was  his  saddle,  whether  riding  over  New 
Salem  and  Orange  hills,  or  to  keep  more  distant  engagements.^ 
He  was  a  frequent  and  welcome  visitor  at  Guilford,  in  the 
home  of  the  zealous  new  converts. 

Benjamin  Ballou,  who  like  others  of  his  family  had  a 
foible  for  rhyming,  gave  expression  to  his  new  faith  in  the 
following :  — 

THOUGHTS   ON  THE   SUN.4 

Why  not  my  Saviour  shine  as  bright, 

With  his  refulgent  rays? 
Why  not  my  God  extend  his  light 

In  one  eternal  blaze  ? 

Is  there  not  goodness  in  the  Lord 

Enough  to  overcome  ? 
Is  there  not  power  enough  in  God 

To  brino;  the  strangers  home  ? 


1  In  Quarterly,  April,  1854,  p.  1S6. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  ISG. 

3 It  was  here  that  Joel  Foster,  a.m.,  sixteen  years  his  senior,  had  "  A  Literary  Corre- 
Bpoiulence  "  with  him,  which  he  published  at  Noithampton  in  1799. 

^These  lines  maybe  found  in  full  in  liallou's  "Voice  to  L'niversalists,"  pp.  281,282. 
It  was  there  erroneously  credited  to  Rev.  Hosea  Ballou,  says  Dr.  Whittemore. 


EABLT  ENVIBONMENT.  37 

When  everything  shall  hear  His  voice, 
He  makes  an  end  of  sin  ; 

Will  not  the  angels  more  rejoice 
When  all  are  gathered  in? 

The  lum'nous  sun  extends  his  light 

To  all  the  human  race  ; 
Will  not  my  Saviour  make  as  bright 

The  kingdom  of  his  grace? 

Later  he  wrote  verses  "  On  Moving." 

How  shall  I  make  my  last  remove 

And  find  a  lasting  home, 
Where  blust'ring  winds  shall  never  rove 

And  storms  sliall  never  come? 


I  'm  near  to  threescore  years  and  ten ; 

I  quickly  shall  depart. 
My  God,  teach  me  to  say  amen, 

With  confidence  of  heart. 


All  that  defiles,  when  swept  away, 

The  soul,  as  pure  as  light. 
Into  those  realms  shall  move  away, 

With  infinite  delight. 

Among  the  verses  written  by  Asahel  Ballon,  the  following 
lines  he  wrote  after  "  two  loving  sisters  died :  "  — 

The  gloom  of  summer  spreads  a  shroud 

O'er  every  joyous  scene,  — 
O'er  field  and  flowers  a  sable  cloud. 

And  o'er  the  meadow  green. 


38  ROSEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

'T  was  here  the  ouce  loved  sisters  went, 

AdcI  culled  the  fragrant  flower ; 
In  contemplation  sweetly  spent 

The  leisure  twilight  hour. 

But  why  should  gloom  o'erspread  the  scene, 

Since  hope  has  wiped  the  tear? 
How  can  we  wish  them  back  again 

To  share  our  sorrow  here  ? 

We  trust  these  loved  ones  are  at  rest 

On  Canaan's  happy  shore, 
Where  friends,  erelong  with  union  blest, 

Will  meet  to  part  no  more. 

Martha  Starr,  the  mother,  too,  early  professed  the  larger 
faith.  Union  and  peace  were  her  watchwords.  "  Emphatically, 
she  was  a  Christian."  ^ 

From  his  earliest  childhood  Hosea  had  not  only  been  taught 
the  doctrine  of  Universalism,  and  seen  and  heard  leading 
Universalist  preachers,  but,  geographically,  in  the  district  in 
which  he  was  reared  there  had  been  perhaps  the  greatest  activity 
on  the  part  of  the  then  hated  sect,  and  the  principal  events  in 
the  history  of  the  denomination  after  he  was  four  years  old  he 
remembered  well  as  they  occurred.  His  uncles,  David  and  Hosea 
Ballou,  particularly  of  the  itinerant  Universalist  preachers,  were 
then  sowing  the  seed  which  soon  bore  fruit  in  the  vicinity  of 
Halifax  in  organized  Universalist  societies  and  a  devoted  con- 
stituency of  the  best  families.  In  Guilford  after  some  years  the 
Universalists  supplanted  the  Congregationalists,  and  bought 
their  meeting-house,  the  only  church  at  the  centre  of  the  town. 
At  West  Halifax,  the  nearest  village  to  the  Ballou  homestead, 
in  like  manner  the  Congregationalist  society  ceased  to  exist,  and 

1  Hosea  Faxon  Ballou  in  Trumpet,  November  2, 1839. 


WINCHESTER  CHURCH,  1803. 


UXIVERSALIST  PROFESSION  OF  FAITH. 


Article  I.  We  believe  that  the  Holy  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  con- 
tain a  revelation  of  the  character  of  God  and  of  the  duty,  interest,  and  final  destination  of 
mankind. 

Article  II.  We  believe  that  there  is  one  God,  whose  nature  is  Love,  revealed  in  one 
Lord,  Jesus  Christ,  by  one  Holy  Spirit  of  Grace,  who  will  linally  restore  the  whole  family 
of  mankind  to  holiness  and  happiness. 

Article  III.  We  believe  that  holiness  and  true  happiness  are  inseparably  connected, 
and  that  believers  ought  to  be  careful  to  maintain  order  and  practise  good  works;  for 
these  things  are  good  and  profitable  unto  men. 


EABLY  ENVIBONMENT.  39 

its  meeting-house  became  and  is  now  the  Universalist  church. 
Whitingham  has  two  Universalist  churches,  Wilmington  one, 
Newfane  one,  Brattleboro  one,  Vernon  one,  and  the  only  church 
in  the  town,  and  these  societies,  while  now  in  new  homes,  were 
active  forces  in  the  palmy  days,  in  his  childhood,  of  those  hill 
towns  of  Vermont,  as  also  were  the  bodies  of  devoted  Univer- 
salists,  organized  or  not,  often  worshiping  in  "  union  churches  "  ^ 
at  Putney,  Londonderry,  Wardsboro,  Athens,  Dover,  Wind- 
ham, and  elsewhere  in  Windham  County.  Across  the  Con- 
necticut River  in  Cheshire  County,  New  Hampshire,  Hinsdale, 
Winchester,  Swanzey,  Richmond,  Marlboro,  Jaffrey,  West- 
moreland, Chesterfield,  all  had  devoted  Universalists  whose 
united  effort,  earlier  or  later,  crystallized  in  organized  societies. 
All  of  these  movements  were  fully  discussed  in  the  Ballou 
household. 

Indeed,  about  four  weeks  before  he  was  born,  in  1796,  the 
General  Convention  of  Universalists  met  for  the  first  time  at 
famous  Winchester,  N.  H.,  which  he  passed  through  as  a 
child  to  visit  his  great-grandsire.  The  Convention  had  then 
been  in  existence  onl}-  eleven  years.  In  1800,  it  met  in  the 
neighboring  town  of  Orange  (now  North  Orange),  Mass. ;  in 
1801,  at  the  still  nearer  town  oj.  Swanzey,  N.  H. ;  in  1802,  at 
Strafford,  Vt.;  and  in  1803,  again  at  Winchester,  N.  H.,  when 
Walter  Ferris  ^  drafted  the  admirable  Articles  of  Faith,  the 
"Winchester  Confession,"  which  the  Convention  then  and  there 
so  wisely  adopted.  In  1805,  the  Convention  met  across  the 
Connecticut  River  from  Brattleboro  at  Westmoreland,  N.  H. ; 

1  At  these  union  cliurclies  ministers  of  different  denominations  proaclied  as  itinerants 

could  arrange.    It  was  not  fifty  miles  from  Halifax,  at  a  union  churcli,  that "  Granny  "  T , 

Orthodox,  heard  one  of  the  Universalist  fathers,  and  in  the  tavern  parlor  between  services 
said,  "  Who  is  the  ^oung  minister?  It  was  the  varry  best  sermon  I  ever  heered  in  my  life." 
When  told  he  was  a  "  Univarsaler,"  she  exclaimed,  "  The  filthy  stufl",  it  was  not  fit  for  the 
pigs  to  hear,"  and  she  forthwith  put  up  her  half-eaten  lunch  and  went  home. 

=  We  say  this  on  the  authority  of  Rosea  Ballou,  senior,  who  with  Zebulon  Streeter, 
George  Richards,  Walter  Ferris,  and  Zephaniah  Laithe  had  the  subject  in  charge. 


40  HOSE  A  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

in  1809,  at  Barnard,  Vt.,  where  Hosea  Ballon,  senior,  was  then 
about  to  close  his  second  pastorate;  in  1813,  for  the  third  time 
at  Winchester,  N.  H. ;  in  1814,  again  at  Westmoreland,  N.  H., 
and  in  1815  at  Whitingham,  the  town  adjoining  Halifax  on  the 
west. 

During  these  nineteen  years,  thanks  to  earnest,  self-sacrificing 
missionary  work  by  the  handful  of  pioneer  Universalist  preach- 
ers, the  growth  of  the  denomination  and  of  its  ministry  was 
rapid.  At  the  time  of  his  birth,  in  1796,  there  had  not  been 
more  than  twenty  professed  Universalist  preachers  in  America. 
Of  these,  Adam  Streeter  and  Zebulon,  his  brother,  Elhanan 
Winchester  and  Moses,  his  brother,  Thomas  Barnes,  Caleb  Rich, 
David  Ballon  and  the  first  Hosea  Ballou,  his  brother,  and  others 
had,  like  the  father  and  grandfather  of  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  been 
Baptists.  The  doctrine  of  religious  liberty  taught  at  Provi- 
dence a  century  and  a  half  earlier  in  God's  appointed  time  bore 
its  legitimate  fruit. 

These  Universalist  preachers,  it  is  understood,  all  at  first 
founded  their  belief  on  Calvinistic  principles.  In  1795,  the  first 
Hosea  Ballou,  without  aid  from  other  thinkers  and  solely  by 
force  of  his  own  thought,  as  he  rode  over  the  hills  of  Richmond, 
North  Orange,  New  Salem,  and  Dana,  and  by  his  study  of  the 
Scriptures,  was  led  to  announce  his  Unitarian  views  of  the  per- 
son of  Christ  and  of  the  nature  of  atonement.  Ten  years  later, 
in  1805,  he  published  his  "  Treatise  on  Atonement."  ^  The 
Universalist  denomination,  preachers  and  laymen,  gradually 
followed  him  in  his  change  of  views.  He  converted  the  de- 
nomination. In  the  Universalist  Quarterly  for  1848,^  Hosea 
Ballou,  2d,  makes  the  following  statement:  "As  early  as  1805 
the  work   may  be  said  to  have   been  completed,  though  Mi-. 

iSee  Edward  Turner's  full  statement  In  Universalist  Quarterly,  Januaiy,  1S19,  pp. 
5  to  14. 

2  Article,  "  Dogmatic  and  Religious  History  of  Universalism  in  America,"  p.  102. 


EABLY  ENVIRONMENT.  41 

Murray  at  Boston,  and  Mr.  Mitchell  at  New  York,  still  main- 
tained the  former  views  with  great  strenuousuess.  But  from 
this  time  onwards,  the  Universalist  ministry  in  this  country 
has,  with  only  three  or  four  exceptions,  publicly  avowed  and 
often  defended  Unitarian  sentiments  upon  these  points,  both 
in  the  pulpit  and  fi-om  the  press."  For  twenty  years  before 
the  controversy  between  William  E.  Clianning  and  Samuel 
Worcester,  in  1815,  led  to  the  organization  of  the  Unitarian  de- 
nomination, the  first  Hosea  Ballou  had  publicly  proclaimed  his 
Unitarian  theology  with  courage  and  with  convincing  power. 
Possibly  he  inspired  certain  of  his  aristocratic,  but  feeble-hearted 
co-religionists  with  courage  to  come  forward  at  last,  and 
honestly  avow  their  views.  In  a  sense,  particularly  in  point  of 
time,  he  was  the  prophet  of  Unitarianism  as  well  as  of  Univer- 
salism  in  America.  The  Unitarian  denomination  cannot  be 
said  to  have  begun  its  organic  existence  in  this  country  until 
the  organization  of  the  American  Unitarian  Association  in  Bos- 
ton in  1826. 

In  a  little  less  than  three  years  after  the  birth  of  Hosea, 
namely,  August  26,  1799,  Asahel  and  Martha  (Starr)  Ballou 
were  blessed  with  a  second  son,  whom  they  named  Asahel, 
junior.  They  now  felt  the  need  of  a  house  and  home  by  them- 
selves for  their  growing  family.  Four  miles  due  west  from  their 
Guilford  home,  and  about  five  miles  by  the  highway  as  it  fol- 
lows the  tortuous  course  of  the  Green  River,  up  among  the  hills, 
in  the  northerly  part  of  the  town  of  Halifax,  on  the  main  road 
from  Brattleboro  to  Wilmington  and  Jacksonville,  where  three 
roads  meet,  Asahel  Ballou  found  a  tract  of  land  ^  with  a  log 
house  which  he  bought  by  warranty  deed  of  date  October  5, 
1799,  for  the  sum  of  six  hundred  and  ^ty-six  dollars  and  sixty- 
seven  cents.  To  this,  his  first  purchase  of  real  estate,  he  added 
adjoining  lands,  until  his  farm  comprised  about  two  hundred 

1  Parts  of  original  lots  51  and  59. 


42  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,   D.D. 

acres.  To  the  little  log  house  he  brought  his  wife  and  two 
children,  and  there  they  lived  for  a  few  months,  while  the 
spacious  farmhouse  still  standing  was  in  process  of  construction, 
after  the  general  plan  of  the  Guilford  house  where  their  home 
had  been.  The  log  house  stood  about  two  rods  southeast  of  the 
site  of  the  frame  house.  Often  as  the  weeks  and  months  and 
years  rolled  by,  the  child  Hosea  went  back  and  forth,  on  visits  to 
his  grandparents,  over  the  picturesque  road  skirting  the  Green 
River,  and  he  early  became  enamored  of  the  stream.  William 
Cullen  Bryant's  poem,  "  Green  River,"  could  not  better  describe 
this  stream,  although  intended  to  describe  its  namesake  in  the 
Berkshire  hills.^     It  begins  :  — 

When  breezes  are  soft  and  skies  are  fair, 

I  steal  an  hour  from  study  and  care, 

And  hie  me  away  to  the  woodland  scene. 

Where  wanders  the  stream  with  waters  green, 

As  if  the  bright  fringe  of  herbs  on  its  brink 

Had  given  their  stain  to  the  waves  they  drink ; 

And  they,  whose  meadows  it  murmurs  through, 

Have  named  the  stream  from  its  own  fair  hue. 

Yet  pure  its  waters  — its  shallows  are  bright 

With  colored  pebbles  and  sparkles  of  light. 

And  clear  the  depths  where  its  eddies  play. 

And  dimples  deepen  and  whirl  away, 

And  the  plane  tree's  speckled  arms  o'ershoot 

The  swifter  current  that  mines  its  root, 

Through  whose  shifting  leaves,  as  you  walk  the  hill, 

The  quivering  glimmer  of  sun  and  rill 

With  a  sudden  flash  on  the  eye  is  thrown, 

Like  the  ray  that  s^-eams  from  the  diamond-stone. 

Oh,  loveliest  there  the  spring  days  come, 

With  blossoms  and  birds  and  wild  bees'  hum  ; 

1  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  once  wrote  to  Mr.  Bryant  to  know  if  the  Green  River  of  Halifax  and 
Guilford  were  the  one  the  poet  referi'ed  to. 


EARLY  HOME. 


EARLY  ENVIRONMENT.  43 

The  flowers  of  summer  are  fairest  there, 
And  freshest  the  breath  of  the  summer  air  ; 
And  sweetest  the  golden  autumn  day 
In  silence  and  sunshine  glides  away. 

Beyond  Green  River  was  dear  Barney  Hill. 

To  the  "Rose  of  Sharon,"  for  1842  (pp.  72-75),  Hosea 
Ballon,  2d,  contributed  a  poem  which  was  familiar  to  his  inti- 
mates half  a  century  ago,  and  as  revised  by  him  in  October, 
1860,  we  herewith  present  it :  — 

BARNEY   HILL. 

Old  Barney  Hill !     Abrupt  and  high 
He  stands  against  the  northeast  sky, 
Beyond  the  stream  and  valley  wild 
I  loved  so  fondly  when  a  child  ;  — 
Broad  forests  cumbering  all  his  base  ; 
Then  shrubbery  climbing  his  steep  face 
Up  to  his  rounded  summit,  where 
Dwindle  the  trees  in  middle  air. 
Half  down  his  right  trends  off  a  rude 
Lawn-checkered  hillside  backed  with  wood  ; 
While  from  his  left,  the  range  comes  forth, 
Sweeping  round  heavily  towards  the  north. 
Childhood  and  youth  seem  present  still 
At  thought  of  thee,  old  Barney  Hill ! 
From  my  home  that,  in  the  west, 
Fronts  thee  on  the  upland's  breast, 
How  oft  I  've  seen  the  seasons  change 
Over  thy  wild  and  heavy  range  ! 
Autumn,  all  thy  woods  o'erspread 
With  yellow,  sere,  and  flaming  red  ; 
Winter  put  his  mantle  on 
Of  snow-crust,  glittering  in  the  sun  ; 
And  the  young  Spring  hang  out  her  pride 


44  HO  SEA   BALLOU,  2(1.  D.D. 

Of  light-green  tassels  on  thy  side, 

Weaving  her  clouds  of  foliage  new, 

O'er  cliffs  and  ledges  peeping  through. 

When  the  sunset  threw  its  veil 

Across  the  intervening  dale, 

I  loved  to  mark  the  shadow  grow 

High  and  higher  towards  thy  brow  ; 

And  the  twilight  from  thee  fade, 

As  Night  came  down  with  deepening  shade ; 

Till  rose  the  moon  at  length,  to  pour 

Her  silver  light  the  darkness  o'er. 

And  when  the  Night  was  wearing  gray. 

Over  the  hills  and  far  away 

I  've  watched  the  dawn  behind  thee  rise, 

Briudling  all  the  eastern  skies  ; 

While  yet  beneath  thy  craggy  height, 

Stream,  vale,  and  forest  lay  in  night. 

Sleeping  to  the  breezy  sigh 

Of  waters  murmuring  fitfully, 

That,  sinking  now,  now  swelling  clear, 

Chimed  upon  the  fresh,  cool  air ; 

Till  morn,  full  risen,  threw  her  ray 

Bright  o'er  the  heavens,  and  all  was  day. 

Then  the  early  note  of  bird, 

Then  the  voice  of  man  was  heard ; 

Soon  the  fields  and  woods  wei-e  ringing 

With  a  thousand  warblers  singing  ; 

And  the  countless  dewdrops  shone. 

Trembling,  to  the  orient  sun. 

In  that  low  vale,  before  the  hills, 

Green  River,  yet  a  streamlet,  steals 

Its  channeled  bed  through  clusters  gay 

Of  furze,  and  wheels  in  curves  away. 

On  either  side  the  mazy  glades 

Run  out,  between  thick  alder  shades, 


EARLY  ENVIBONMENT.  45 

To  many  a  nook  and  circlet  green, 

Here  partly  open,  there  unseen. 

Bower  and  tangled  copse  are  there, 

And  wild  flowers  that  perfume  the  air ; 

Rising  amid  a  colonnade 

Of  elms,  their  gothic  arches  spread  ; 

While,  glimmering  through  the  sylvan  bound, 

Woods,  hills,  and  upland  close  around. 

Oh,  scenes  of  Fancy's  earliest  dream  ! 

There,  sitting  by  the  shaded  stream, 

I  ranged  the  world  of  young  Romance  ; 

But  sought  in  vain  fit  utterance 

For  thoughts  that  would  not  be  at  rest. 

Till  in  some  rustic  lay  expressed. 

By  secret  bower,  by  sunny  glade, 

By  trees  high-arching  overhead, 

I  mused  the  enchanted  hours  away ; 

And  Eden  all  around  me  lay. 

Years  long  gone  by  !     And  change  has  been,  — 

Sad  change,  —  o'er  yon  remembered  scene. 

Where  are  they  now,  the  young  and  fair, 

Who  met  on  summer  evenings  thei'e, 

With  kindly  glance  and  sportive  strain  ? 

Ah,  never  there  to  meet  again ! 

They  scattered  soon  to  many  a  laud  ; 

Even  the  few  remnants  of  that  band, 

Whom  death  had  spared,  are  strangers  now, 

Aged  and  worn,  with  whitened  brow  ; 

And  who  returns  to  look  upon 

These  haunts  of  youth,  returns  alone. 

I  see  old  Barney  Hill  once  more. 

But  not  as  he  appeared  of  yore  : 

The  forest  broad  that  darkened  on 

His  swelling  base,  is  open  thrown  ; 

And  the  young  shrubbery  changed  to  trees 


46  HOSEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

Along  his  high  acclivities  ; 

The  range  of  woods  that  closed  the  view 

On  the  eastern  height  is  broken  through  ; 

And  from  the  stream  and  lowland  mead 

Has  gone  the  ancient  alder  shade. 

Yet  the  old  scenes  I  held  so  dear 

Have  a  mysterious  presence  here, 

Unchanged  in  look,  though  shadowy  quite. 

All  bathed  in  that  empyreal  light 

Which  glorifies  our  life's  young  morn, 

Ere  Age  has  dimmed  or  Care  has  worn ; 

Memory  restores  and  traces  o'er 

Each  feature  as  it  was  before. 

And  as  't  will  ever  hallow  still 

Green  River  vale  and  Barney  Hill. 

Southward,  across'  the  highway  from  the  house,  the  farm 
extends  up  through  the  large  apple  orchard  to  the  pasture  and 
the  sugar  orchard  of  rock  maples  well  toward  the  summit  of 
Camp  Hill  beyond.  North  of  the  buildings  is  the  main  body 
of  tillage  land,  set  with  more  fruit  trees  here  and  there.  The 
large  meadow  aside,  it  is  a  hilly,  somewhat  stony  farm,  its  soil 
only  fairly  productive,  —  such  a  New  England  farm  as  has 
supported  many  a  large  family,  and  in  rare  instances  has  added 
an  overplus  to  be  laid  aside  for  old  age  or  a  rainy  day,  never, 
however,  without  good  management,  industry,  and  strict 
economy.  These  qualities  Asahel  Ballon  had  in  an  eminent 
degree,  and  he  was  ably  seconded  by  his  noble  helpmeet. 

The  house,  the  shop,  the  horse  barn,  the  cow  barn,  the  sheds, 
still  stand  substantially  as  Asahel  Ballou  built  them,  nearly 
a  century  ago.  The  house  stands  well  back  from  the  highway, 
—  a  spacious  lawn  with  shade  trees  in  front.  It  is  a  large, 
two-story,  square-roofed  house,  now  white,  but  originally 
painted  red.     It  faces  south  precisely.     With  characteristic  pre- 


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EARLY  ENVIRONMENT.  47 

cision  Asahel  Ballou  made  the  four  sides  point  exactly  to  the 
four  points  of  the  compass.  The  front  door  opens  directly  into 
the  large  living  room,  perhaps  twenty-four  by  twenty  feet  in 
dimensions.  Opposite  the  front  door  was  the  large  fireplace, 
nine  feet  wide  and  high,  where  the  veritable  logs  were  brought 
and  rolled  in  to  give  warmth  and  light  on  cold  winter  even- 
ings. High  up,  above  the  reach  of  small  boys,  a  small  book- 
case is  built  into  the  wall.  Hooks  with  drying  poles  hang  from 
the  ceiling.  At  the  right  of  the  fireplace,  the  large  brick 
oven ;  next  to  it,  the  entry  to  the  shop,  and  the  pantry  beyond. 
To  the  left  of  the  front  door  are  the  stairs  to  the  sleeping 
rooms  and  attic  above,  and  to  a  high,  well-walled,  and  dry  cellar 
below ;  and  beyond  the  stairway  on  the  ground  floor  a  sleeping 
room,  and  back  of  it  the  parlor.  In  the  olden  time  the  fire- 
place and  big  chimney  took  up  a  large  part  of  the  middle  of 
the  house.  Back  of  it,  extending  through  the  L,  were  the  shop 
and  the  timber  room  beyond,  —  the  shop  with  its  lathe  and 
tools  for  the  manufacture  of  spinning  wheels  and  chairs. 
Many  a  pretty  penny  was  made  in  that  shop,  for  Asahel  Ballou 
was  handy  at  woodworking  tools  as  his  direct  ancestors  in  the 
male  line  had  been  for  four  or  five  generations  before  him. 
He  had  an  inborn  liking  for  accurate  workmanship,  and  he 
instilled  into  the  minds  of  his  children  the  importance  of  accu- 
racy in  everything. 

Asahel  Ballou  was  an  exceptionally  fine  penman.  His  style 
of  penmanship  his  children  learned,  and  never  unlearned,  but 
in  point  of  accurate  penmanship  they  never  equaled  him. 
For  example,  in  his  leisure  moments  he  would  write  out  the 
Lord's  Prayer  in  the  space  of  a  square  inch,  and  with  the  shar]) 
goose  quill  every  line  so  fine  and  distinct  that  the  writing  — 
preserved  still  among  the  family  curiosities  —  is  easily  legible 
to  the  naked  eye.  Again,  for  amusement  he  would  divide  the 
square  inch  into  sixteen  equal  parts,  and  in  each  one  sixteenth 


48  HOSE  A  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

part  of  a  square  inch  would  write  legibly  the  form  of  a  note  of 
hand. 

In  Halifax,  Asahel  Ballou  was  looked  up  to  as  a  country 
squire.  He  was  a  justice  of  the  peace,  drew  up  legal  papers 
for  his  neighbors,  and  was  many  years  "  lister "  or  assessor. 
There  was  not  much  sociability  in  the  neighborhood ;  ^  the 
people  were  all  hard-working  farmers.  Muster  day  was  the 
chief  holiday,  and  then,  tradition  says,  the  young  Hosea  shone  as 
fifer  of  the  Halifax  militia.  The  social  life  of  the  family  was 
confined  mainly  to  the  home  circle.  Sundays,  and  many  an  even- 
ing after  the  day's  work  was  done,  the  family  gathered  about 
the  large,  open  fireplace  and  read  or  sang  to  the  accom- 
paniment of  the  flute.  In  their  reading,  the  Bible,  theological 
discussions,  popular  science,  and  poetry  each  had  its  place. 
The  father  sang  more  or  less ;  the  mother  a  good  deal,  before, 
through  sickness  and  advancing  age,  she  partially  lost  her 
voice.  It  was  an  orderly,  harmonious,  intelligent,  and  mutually 
affectionate  home  circle  in  which  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  was  reared. 

1  The  story  goes  that  at  a  "  sewing  circle  "  in  ye  olden  time  not  far  from  Halifax,  a 
world-wise  woman  said  :  "  I  would  rather  marry  a  rich  man  who  was  fuU-middling  cross 
than  to  marry  a  good-natured  man  who  was  poor,  for  I  would  rather  lack  for  one  thing 
than  for  everything." 


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CHAPTER   III. 

YOUTH,    ITS    IMPRESSIONS   AND   EXPRESSIONS. 

A  MILE  west  of  the  Asahel  Ballou  farm,  at  the  crossroads, 
still  stands  the  little  schoolhouse  —  modernized  and  moved  a 
few  feet  from  its  old  foundations  a  little  nearer  to  the  road,  but 
still  the  same  frame  —  where,  at  four  years  of  age,  Hosea  Bal- 
lou, 2d,  first  went  to  school,  and  for  ten  years  continued  to  go 
three  months  in  winter  and  a  few  weeks  in  summer.  Now 
painted  white,  it  was  then  the  typical  little  red  schoolhouse. 
At  school  Hosea  was  a  precocious  boy.  He  applied  himself 
and  learned  rapidly  the  rudiments  that  sucli  a  district  school 
could  offer.  He  walked  to  school  and  back  morning  and  after- 
noon over  the  hills,  with  such  a  panorama  spread  out  before 
his  eyes  to  the  south  as  in  after  years  he  climbed  many  a  high 
mountain  only  to  view.  Down  the  valley  of  Branch  Brook  to 
its  confluence  with  North  River,  and  still  on  southward  almost 
to  its  confluence  in  turn  with  Deerfield  River  at  Shelburne 
Falls,  Mass.,  his  eye  could  reach  as  he  stood  on  the  highest 
points  in  the  road  on  his  way  to  and  from  school.  From 
neighboring  heights  he  viewed  Ascutney,  Round  Top,  prob- 
ably Kearsarge,  and  Monadnock  mountains.  "  Auf  der  Hohe^'' 
say  the  Germans.  Indeed  and  in  truth,  in  his  childhood 
he  lived  on  the  heights.  As  I  lately  walked  over  that  road  to 
the  schoolhouse,  I  felt  something  of  the  inspiration  that  he  felt 
there  nearly  a  century  ago.  To  me  every  foot  of  the  way  was 
hallowed  ground.  To  the  young  student  it  also  had  historic 
associations,  for  over  this  road,  it  is  said,  Ethan  Allen  and  his 
Bennington  men  marched  in  the  summer  of  1783,  on  the  expe- 
dition to  subdue  the  Yorkers  in  his  native  Guilford,  as  already 

49 


60  ROSEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

related,  in  their  protracted  struggle  with  the  New  State  men. 
Morning  and  night  he  drank  in  the  lessons  of  patriotism  and 
heroism. 

The  road  he  traversed  was  then,  as  it  is  now,  thinly  settled. 
In  the  mile  from  his  home  to  the  schoolhouse  he  passed  less 
than  a  dozen  farmhouses.  It  was  the  time  of  large,  "  old- 
fashioned  "  families,  and  each  farmhouse  contributed  its  quota 
to  help  fill  the  little  schoolhouse.  A  few  rods  beyond  the 
schoolhouse,  and  nearest  to  it,  was  the  James  Hatch  homestead, 
where  Clarissa  Hatch,  one  of  the  school  children  of  whom  we 
shall  have  more  to  sa^^  later,  lived.  The  house  appears  in  the 
picture  of  the  schoolhouse  at  the  left  in  the  background 
among  the  trees.  Beginning  with  the  "  three  R's,"  the  course 
of  study  in  the  district  school  was  eminently  practical.  Its 
central  object  then,  as  now,  was  not  scholarship  in  the  strict 
sense,  but  first  such  knowledge  as  is  necessary  in  the  con- 
duct of  everyday  affairs  and  as,  among  the  masses,  best  con- 
duces to  good  citizenship.  Very  few  of  the  pupils  were 
expected  to  prosecute  their  studies  beyond  the  distnct  school. 

But  more  than  one  of  Asahel  Ballou's  children  were  excep- 
tions to  the  rule.  Hosea  was  an  exception.  "  His  bosom 
burned  with  aspirations  for  higher  knowledge."  ^  Asahel, 
junior,  born,  as  we  have  said,  August  26,  1799,  and  Pearley, 
born  January  4, 1802,  were  content  with  a  common-school  edu- 
cation ;  but  Levi,  born  May  10, 1806,  and  William  Starr,  born 
September  17,  1808,  were,  like  their  oldest  brother,  exceptions 
to  the  rule,  and  prepared  for  the  Universalist  ministry.  And 
of  the  four  younger  children,  Reuben  and  Martin,  twins,  born 
July  25,  1812,  and  Alvin  and  Almon,  twins,  born  January  11, 
1816,  Martin  prepared  for  the  practice  of  law,  and  Alvin  for 
the  practice  of  medicine  ;  Reuben  died  in  his  second  year,  and 
Almon,  with  a  farmer's  life  in  view,  finished  his  school  days  at 
the  little  red  schoolhouse. 

I  "  Ballous  ill  America,"  by  Adin  Ballou,  p.  756. 


THE  DISTRICT  SCHOOL 
AND  WHERE  HE  -'WENT   A-COURTING." 


YOUTH.  51 

It  was  the  death  of  his  little  brother  Reuben,  October  15, 
1813,  that  prompted  Hosea  to  compose  the  first  of  the  manu- 
script poems  he  thought  fit  to  preserve  in  his  collection.  He 
was  then  nearly  seventeen  years  old.  It  was  the  first  death  in 
the  immediate  family,  and  the  few  stanzas  that  we  quote  show 
how  deeply  he  was  afi"ected  :  — 

Cold  blows  the  blast  o'er  Reuben's  grave, 

And  robes  the  broken  turf  iu  white  ; 
Emblem  of  innocence,  that  sleeps 

Beneath,  in  deathlike  shades  of  night ! 

Oh,  could  the  light  again  illume 

Those  brilliant  eyes  that  shine  no  more  ! 

Oh,  could  those  features  reassume 
The  former  lustre  which  they  wore ! 

Tho'  faucy  still  the  scene  surveys. 

Where  late  the  infaut  cherub  shone, 
Points  to  the  shades  of  pleasiug  days, 

And  tells  us  they  were  once  our  own ; 

Those  pleasing  days  can  ne'er  return  ; 

Since  he  who  gave  that  pleasure  birth 
Lies  mouldering  in  the  silent  urn. 

And  mingling  with  the  clods  of  earth. 

But  see,  in  climes  of  endless  rest. 

Beyond  the  flight  of  death  or  pain, 
There  Reuben  lives  among  the  blest. 

And  smiles  amid  the  happy  train. 

It  calms  my  troubled  soul  to  peace  ; 

While  Resignation  wipes  the  tear; 
I  cannot  mourn  for  his  release 

From  all  our  imperfections  here. 


52  HO  SEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

It  was  the  earnest  desire  of  Martha  (Starr)  Ballou  that  such 
of  their  nine  boys  —  they  had  no  girls  —  as  desired  it  should 
have  a  liberal  education.  Asahel,  her  husband,  was  "  a  man 
of  strong  native  common  sense,  intelligent  without  scholastic 
privileges  by  force  of  his  own  mental  culture,  observation,  and 
experience,  high-toned  in  moral  sentiments,  conscience,  and 
character,"  ^  and,  while  he  cherished  a  certain  distrust  of  col- 
lege-bred men,  he  was  scarcely  less  desirous  than  was  his  wife 
that  they  should  have  the  opportunity  for  further  study  than 
the  common  school  offered ;  but  with  his  limited  means,  how 
was  it  possible  ?  Morning  and  night  and  during  vacation  from 
school  the  boys  had  helped  about  the  farm,  and  two  of  them 
at  least  ^  were  skilful  with  tools  in  the  shop.  As  they  grew 
older  and  stronger,  their  time  was  more  valuable  to  him  to 
plant  and  cultivate  the  fields,  to  graft  and  prune  the  large 
orchards,  to  go  out  to  the  sugar  camp  and  make  maple  sugar  in 
spring,  to  make  hay  in  the  meadow  and  on  the  hillsides  in 
summer,  to  go  into  the  wood  lot  and  cut  timber  in  winter,  to 
take  care  of  the  large  herd  of  cattle  on  which  the  profits  of 
the  farm  in  large  measure  depended,  and  to  perform  a  thousand 
and  one  tasks  known  only  to  the  farmer's  boy.  But  Asahel 
Ballou  did  not  hesitate  at  the  loss  of  time  and  labor.  How  meet 
the  expense  of  further  schooling  for  his  children  ?  That  was  the 
question.  With  a  growing  family  to  support,  by  industry  and 
thrift  he  had  been  able  to  save  only  a  little  from  the  farm  and 
the  shop  each  year.  It  would  have  been  an  easy  matter  for 
him  to  have  sent  07ie  of  the  boys  to  college,  and  it  was  seriously 
proposed  to  send  the  eldest  son  to  college.  But  could  he  afford 
to  give  the  younger  children  equal  opportunities  ?     Document- 


1  Adin  Ballou,  "  The  Ballous  in  America,"  p.  293.  See  also  poem  of  ten  stanzas  written 
by  Hosea  Ballou,  senior,  as  a  tribute  to  Asahel  Ballou,  and  printed  in  the  Trumpet, 
Boston,  April  5, 1851. 

*Pearley  and  Levi. 


ASAHEL  BALLOU  IN  HIS  SEVENTIETH  YEAR. 

[Fru.ai  an  Oil  Painting  by  Giddings  Hyde  Ballou.    Owned  by 
HosEA  Starr  Ballou.] 


YOUTH.  53 

arj  evidence  ^  is  before  me  that  he  was  scrupulously  careful  to 
treat  all  his  children  alike,  with  absolute  impartiality.  Asahel 
Ballou  was  a  veritable  prince  in  his  own  home,  revered,  loved, 
and  all  his  decisions  were  accepted  there  as  wise  and  just 
beyond  question. 

Four  miles  away,  at  Halifax  Centre,  lived  Rev.  Thomas  H. 
Wood,  who  was  glad  to  supplement  his  salary  as  Congregation- 
alist  minister  by  tuition  fees  as  teacher.  At  fourteen  years  of 
age,  Hosea  began  reciting  Latin  to  him.  We  have  three  pages 
in  manuscript  of  his  translation  into  Latin  at  this  time  of  a 
sermon  on  James  i.  17,  by  Rev.  Hugh  Blair,  d.d.,  —  a  very 
creditable  translation.  From  this  beginning  he  became  a  pro- 
ficient Latin  scholar.  It  was  while  studying  Latin  at  home,  late 
evenings  after  the  labors  of  the  day,  that  he  first  acquired  the 
habit  of  putting  bits  of  tobacco  into  his  mouth  to  stimulate 
him  to  keep  awake,  —  a  habit  which,  though  scarcely  observable, 
went  with  him  as  long  as  he  lived.  He  also  attended  a  "  select 
school "  at  Halifax  Centre.  What  he  learned  there  he  never 
forgot.  It  was  not  a  wide  curriculum,  but  it  ploughed  deep. 
He  secured  an  average  preparation  for  college,  but,  above  all 
else,  he  learned  there  how  to  study.  The  aged  daughter  of  Mr 
Wood  wrote  a  few  years  ago  from  a  distant  State  that  she 
remembered  well  seeing,  as  a  child,  three  of  the  Ballou  boys  — 
Hosea,  Levi,  and  William  Starr,  no  doubt  —  one  after  another 
coming  on  horseback  on  a  black  mare  with  three  white  feet  to 
recite  to  her  father. 

At  the  early  age  of  fifteen  years,  Hosea  —  a  slight,  light- 
haired,  blue-eyed  young  man,  perhaps  five  feet  eight  inches 
in  height,  boyish,  yet  mature  for  his  years  —  first  assumed  in  the 
adjoining  town  of  Marlboro,  Vt.,  the  r61e  of  a  public  school- 

1  Receipts  from  his  sons  to  each  of  whom  he  allowed  $200,  "  in  neat  stock,"  on  their 
attaining  their  majority,  with  which  to  begin  life's  battle ;  also  letter,  October  10, 1839,  from 
tiim. 


54  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

teacher.  He  "  boarded  around."  Once  given  a  sleeping  room 
on  the  ground  floor  which  was  open  to  the  elements  under- 
neath, he  used  to  relate  how  the  midwinter  winds  and  snows 
rushed  in  through  the  broad  cracks  in  the  floor  and  danced 
about  the  room.  There  were  hardships  many.  Two  winters 
he  taught  in  Marlboro  and  one  term  at  a  village  on  Green 
River,  studying  meanwhile  ;  and  summers  he  worked  on  the 
farm.  His  experience  as  a  teacher  was  of  the  highest  possible 
value  to  him  in  its  educational  effects,  as  such  experience  has 
been  to  hundreds  of  young  men.  In  learning  to  control  others, 
one  learns  best  to  control  himself. 

Born  and  reared  in  a  Universalist  family,  and  under  the 
influence  of  Rev.  David  Ballou,  and  more  especially  of  the  first 
Hosea,  it  was  probably  due  largely  to  Rev.  Mr.  Wood,  his 
teacher,  that  at  seventeen  years  of  age  he  had  a  deep  religious 
experience.  Shortly,  however,  it  served  only  to  confirm  his 
faith  in  the  doctrine  of  universal  salvation. 

There  is  reason  to  surmise  that  a  few  months  after  Hosea 
had  passed  his  fifteenth  birthday,  while  he  was  teaching  his  first 
winter  school  at  Marlboro,  Vt.,  his  father  was  visited  by  Rev. 
David  Ballou,  his  uncle,  on  a  preaching  tour  through  South- 
eastern Vermont,  and  that  he  discussed  with  him  the  advisabil- 
ity of  sending  his  eldest  son  to  college.  The  question  was 
discussed  by  relatives  near  and  far,  and  from  his  new  home  in 
Franklin  County,  Massachusetts,  the  grandfather,  Benjamin 
Ballou,  wrote  the  following  letter  to  iiis  son  Asahel  Ballou :  — 

The  Gore,  February  10th,  a. d.  1812. 

It  is  a  pleasant  morning  with  us. 

Beloved  son  and  daughter :  The  feelings  of  my  mind  are  such  that 
I  want  to  inform  you  that  we  are  all  well  as  common,  through  the 
good  providence  of  God  hoping  these  few  lines  will  find  you  enjoy- 
ing the  same  blessing. 


W 

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!2J 

YOUTH.  55 

Yesterday  and  the  Sabbath  before,  we  had  good  meetings  at  your 
Uncle  Nathan's.  Elder  David  Ballon  preached,  where  there  was 
quite  a  goodly  number. 

Somebody  hath  told  me  that  your  son  Hosea  is  thoughtful  of  study 
on  Divinity,  that  some  advise  you  or  him  for  him  to  go  to  college,  on 
which  I  would  make  some  remarks. 

There  was  one  Elder  Smith,  a  Baptist,  having  a  very  promising 
son  handy  at  learning  as  a  mechanic  is  at  handling  tools.  He  was 
sent  to  college  some  years  ago.  This  sou  Smith  was  settled  minister 
in  Rowe  in  the  standing  or  Congregational  order.  He  is  now  settled 
in  some  of  the  lower  towns  in  the  same  way.  It  is  thought  by  many 
that  he  is  at  heart  a  Uuiversaler.^ 

Esq.  Briggs'  father  was  a  Baptist ;  he  sent  one  of  his  sons  to  col- 
lege, and  he  settled  a  minister  in  the  standing  order.   .   .   . 

I  want  to  give  you  these  ideas  in  full.  But  they  are  waiting  for 
this  letter. 

Farewell,  from  3'our  father  and  mother.  Keep  this  until  I  can  see 
you  :  from  this  I  can  recollect  my  mind. 

[Signed]         BENJAMIN  and  LYDIA   BALLOU. 

In  1812,  Harvard  College,  as  well  as  Yale,  Williams,  Dart- 
mouth, indeed  practically  all  New  England  colleges,  were 
under  the  control  of  the  Congregationalists,  a  sect  which  the 
Ballous,  whether  Baptists  or  Universalists,  had  always  dis- 
trusted.    To  make  proselytes  was  an  acknowledged  mission. 

It  was  finally  decided  that  the  youthful  Hosea  should  not  be 
sent  to  college. 

In  October,  1813,  thanks  to  the  War  of  1812,  Hosea  Ballou, 
senior,  was  teaching  a  private  school  at  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  to 
add  to  his  income  as  pastor  of  the  Universalist  society;  and  he 
then  called  as  his  assistant  in  the  school  his  namesake,  Hosea 
Ballou,    "Cousin,"    he    called   him,    then   seventeen  years    of 

1  No  doubt  Rev.  Preserved  Smith  of  Warwick,  Mass.,  wtiose  grandson,  Prof.  Henry 
Preserved  Smitli,  of  Lane  Seminary,  Ohio,  was  recently  tried  by  the  Presbyterians  on  a 
similar  cliarge. 


56  HOSE  A  BALLOU.  2d,  D.D. 

age,  who  now  for  the  first  time  found  it  necessary  to  add  to 
his  signature  "  2d." 

It  was  in  the  other  half  of  the  double  house  in  which  he 
lived  that  Hosea  Ballou  had  his  school.  Regularly  occupied  by 
the  master  of  a  ship,  in  his  absence  at  sea  it  was  occupied  by 
the  master  of  a  school.  It  was  a  new  experience  to  the  Green 
Mountain  boy.  Portsmouth,  a  great  seaport,  was  still  at  the 
height  of  its  prosperity, — in  shipping,  in  its  busy  navy  yard, 
with  its  four  forts  all  manned.  It  had  ceased  to  be  capital  of 
the  State  only  six  years  before.  There  Dr.  Comfort  Starr's 
daughter,  Hannah,  had  dispensed  gracious  hospitality  as  the 
wife  of  John  Cutt,  President  of  the  Province.  There,  for 
nearly  forty  years,  there  had  been  Universalist  preaching  more 
or  less  regularly,  sometimes  in  "  the  separate  meeting-house  " 
on  Brimstone  Hill,  but  since  1807  in  the  large  church,  then 
built,  with  a  seating  capacity  of  thirteen  hundred,  which  has 
lately  been  burned.  It  was  the  first  Universalist  Church  edi- 
fice in  which  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  regularly  worshiped. 

Here  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  became  the  first  student  in  theology 
of  his  "  Uncle."  Precisely  what  course  of  instruction  he  had 
in  theology  we  do  not  certainly  know.  The  Bible  he  had 
studied  from  early  childhood,  and  no  doubt  had  read  his  teacher's 
"Literary  Correspondence,"  "Treatise  on  Atonement,"  and 
"Notes  on  the  Parables."  In  his  case,  no  doubt,  as  in  the  case 
of  Lucius  R.  Paige,^  nine   years   later,  Hosea  Ballou,  senior, 

1  The  venerable  Rev.  Dr.  Lucius  R.  Vaige,  now  in  his  ninety-fifth  year,  —and  a  living 
benediction  to  all  by  his  gentle,  loving,  noble  nature,  — recalls  distinctly  his  experience  as 
a  student  of  theology  in  18:!3  with  Hosea  Ballou,  senior,  in  Boston.  He  says  :  "  He  asked 
me  what  I  had  read.  I  replied,  the  Bible  a  gi-eat  deal;  I  had  read  his  'Treatise  on 
Atonement,'  and  contributions  to  the  Universalist  Magazine,  little  besides  of  a  religious 
character  that  made  an  impression  upon  me.  I  was  accepted  as  a  student  with  Massena 
B.  Ballou,  whose  room  I  shared  in  Father  Ballou's  house.  At  the  outset  he  asked  me  to 
write  a  sermon.  At  my  request,  he  gave  me  a  text  and  I  wrote  a  sermon,  and  read  it  to  him. 
He  commended  it,  and  told  me  to  write  another.  I  listened  and  thought  and  wrote,  but  he 
did  not  at  the  outset,  nor  indeed  at  any  time,  suggest  a  single  book  that  I  should  read. 
"  In  a  few  weeks  it  happened  that  the  minister  of  the  Cliarlestown  parish  fell  sick,  and 


YOUTH.  57 

merely  helped  his  pupil  to  help  himself.  He  believed  the  way  to 
learn  to  do  a  thing  was  by  doing  it ;  the  way  to  learn  to  write 
a  sermon  was  by  writing  sermons.  Conversations  and  discus- 
sions with  his  teacher,  and  long-continued  close  personal  con- 
tact with  him,  learning  to  reason  and  to  think  as  the  teacher 
reasons  and  thinks,  are  often  the  most  valuable  and  lasting  ele- 
ment in  a  student's  education.  So  it  was  with  Hosea  Ballou, 
2d,  Lucius  R.  Paige,  Thomas  Whittemore,  and  the  rest  of  Hosea 
Ballou,  senior's,  pupils.  To  him  education  was  not  a  "  cram- 
ming "  process.  To  him  education  had  its  etymological  mean- 
ing, —  e-ducation,  e-duco,  I  bring  out,  I  lead  out.  Twenty-two 
hundred  years  and  more  before,  Socrates,  at  Athens,  had  his 
Plato ;  Plato  was  not  a  more  faithful  pupil  than  was  Hosea 
Ballou,  2d,  and  under  methods  of  instruction  that  have  many 
points  in  common.  Often  in  the  "  Dialogues  "  of  Plato,  Socrates 
wittily  speaks  of  himself  as  "  a  person  devoted  to  the  same  call- 
ing as  his  mother  Phsenarete,  who  practised  the  obstetric  art ; 
the  only  difference  between  them  being  that,  whereas  she  assisted 
women  with  her  skill,  he  helped  to  deliver  the  minds  of  men  of 
the  ideas  of  which  they  were  in  labour."  ^ 

In  1813  the  teaching  of  the  orthodox  clergy  was  mainly  dog- 
matic. The  old  habit  of  receiving  a  creed  and  its  interpreta- 
tions from  men  with,  if  not  papal,  at  least  almost  infallible 
authority,  still  held  the  young  men  at  the  great  seats  of  learn- 

Deacon  Gould  called  on  Hosea  Ballou  to  furnish  a  supply  for  the  pulpit.  '  Yes,'  said  he, 
•Brother  Paige  here  can  go.'  I  said  nothing  till  the  deacon  was  gone.  '  But  what  shall  1 
preach?  '  said  I.  '  Preach  one  of  the  sermons  you  have  read  to  me.'  my  teacher  rejjlied; 
•they  would  do  for  my  pulpit,  and  they  will  do  for  Cliarlestowu.'  A  few  weeks  later  he 
sent  me  to  Haverhill  by  stagecoach  one  Saturday  to  remain  two  weeks  and  preach  three 
Sundays. 

"  Two  months  after  I  first  came  to  him  he  told  me  that  I  could  live  cheaper  in  Hardwick 
than  in  Boston,  and  from  there  preach  as  opportunity  offered,  and,  with  kind  expressions 
of  interest,  I  finished  a  course  of  instruction  which  I  had  planned  to  cover  in  two  years 
in  as  many  mouths." 

[In  one  of  my  last  interviews  with  Dr.  Paige  he  approved  this  statement,  and  since  it 
was  printed,  full  of  years  and  of  honors,  he  has  quietly  passed  away.] 

1  J.  F.  Fen-ier's  "  Philosophical  Works,"  vol.  II,  p.  258,  2d  London  Edition. 


58  HO  SEA  BALLOU.  2d,  D-D. 

ing  as  in  an  iron  vise.  "  Believe  and  ask  no  questions,"  was 
still  in  effect  the  rule  of  the  "  standing  order."  With  students 
who  already  had  a  good  general  education,  Hosea  Ballou, 
senior,  treated  them  as  men,  with  a  right  of  private  judgment, 
and  encouraged  them  in  the  habit  of  questioning  blind  authority 
and  of  appealing  to  reason.  He  had  reasoned  out  his  theology  ; 
they  must  reason  out  theirs.  He  asked  few  questions.  Such 
as  they  asked  he  helped  them  to  answer.  He  was  in  advance 
of  his  time.  Herbert  Spencer  saj^s :  "  The  old  educational  regime 
was  akin  to  the  social  systems  with  which  it  was  contempo- 
raneous ;  and  similarly  .  .  .  our  modern  modes  of  culture  cor- 
respond to  our  more  liberal  religious  and  political  institutions."  ^ 
The  young  theological  student  and  assistant  teacher  had 
scarcely  reached  Portsmouth,  in  the  autumn  of  1813,  before  the 
passion  for  rhyming  which  sometimes  took  possession  of  Hosea 
Ballou,  senior,  also  possessed  him.  He  sought  the  Muses. 
"The  great  fire  at  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  December  23,  1813," 
furnished  him  a  theme,  and  his  verses  appear  to  have  been 
published  in  the  New  Hampshire  Gazette  ^  the  following  year. 
These  verses,  with  others  on  the  "  The  Battle  of  the  Beech 
Tree,"  "  The  Hartfordian  Muse,  a  Satire,"  etc.,  are  contained  in 
"An  old  Manuscript"  which,  he  wrote  July  4,  1822,  "I  once 
supposed  to  contain  marvelously  good  poetry  ;  but  which  I  now 
discover  to  contain  little  which  can  be  called  even  tolerable ; 
and  it  grieves  me  to  say,  still  less  good  sense."  We  may  safely 
quote  a  few  of  the  verses,  however,  as  they  were  originally 
written :  — 

The  air  was  calm,  when  Phoebus  shed, 
Ou  Portsmouth's  spires,  his  parting  ray ; 
And  unobscur'd  the  pensive  sky, 
While  evening  shades  absorb'd  the  day. 

1 "  Essays  on  Educatiou,"  p.  99. 

2  Also  revised  in  Universalist  Magazine,  vol.  VI. 


PORTSMOUTH   HOME   AND   SCHOOL. 


YOUTH.  59 

December's  frosted  hand  had  cast, 
O'er  nature's  face,  an  aspect  drear  ; 
But  now  she's  hush'd  her  wintry  blast, 
And  calmness  rules  the  closing  year. 
Ye  busy  crowds,  that  slowly  part, 
Soon  shall  you  meet  in  sad  amaze, 
When  Desolation's  awful  arm 
Shall  wrap  your  dwellings  in  one  blaze  ; 
The  pealing  bell,  the  mingled  voice 
Of  supplication,  grief,  despair. 
Shall  rouse  you  from  your  peaceful  joys, 
And  crowd  you  on  to  that  bright  glare. 
Where  smoky  flames,  ascending,  burst 
Thro'  broken  roofs,  and  sinking  walls  ; 
Or  where,  amid  the  ruin  crushed, 
The  shapeless  building  silent  falls. 
There  see  amidst  surrounding  night, 
On  high  the  blazing  tempest  tow'rs. 
While  from  its  waving  summits  bright. 
It  fills  the  streets  with  fiery  showers. 

The  first  winter  in  Portsmouth  passed,  we  find  him  in  June, 
1814,  back  on  the  farm  at  Halifax,  working  and  musing  and 
dreaming,  and  writing  a  poem  which  begins  :  — 

Evening  comes  with  western  breeze. 

Three  months  later,  in  September,  still  at  Halifax,  the  "  Scene 
on  an  Intervale  bordering  Green  River  "  fires  his  muse,  and  he 
writes ;  — 

Now  evening  comes,  and  misty  clouds 

Descend  upon  the  vale. 
And  hang  incumbent  o'er  the  floods 

That  murmur  in  the  gale. 
O'er  this  same  spot,  an  artless  child, 

How  often  have  I  stray'd  ; 


60  HOSEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

Gaz'd  on  the  neighboring  mountains  wild, 
Or  slept  beneath  the  shade  ! 

"What  lengths  of  time  have  interven'd, 

Since  all  our  childish  band 
Have  sported  on  this  shaded  green, 

Or  o'er  yon  pebbled  strand  ! 

Here  I  trace  the  wand'ring  way 

My  devious  life  has  run  ; 
Where  folly  taught  my  feet  to  stray  ; 

Or  prudence  what  to  shun. 

Almighty  Father,  't  was  thy  hand. 

Unseen,  protected  me  ; 
Oft  from  the  snares  of  vice  restrained  ; 

From  dangers  oft  did  free. 
Then,  when  deep  gloom  my  future  shrouds, 

Let  me  thy  goodness  own  ; 
Alike  beneficent,  Avhen  clouds 

Or  smiles  surround  thy  throne  ! 

Again  in  Portsmouth  in  the  autumn  of  1814,  he  found  lei- 
sure to  write  "  The  Newsboys'  Address  to  the  Patrons  of  the 
New  Hampshire  Gazette,  on  New-Year's  Day,  1815."  [Re- 
vised.] 

Welcome,  day  of  joy  and  gladness, 

Shed  once  more  thy  annual  ray  ; 
Let  all  murmuring,  grief,  and  sadness 

Fly  the  dawn  of  New-Year's  Day  ; 
Which  now  coming  in  rotation 

Calls  me  forth  with  lively  cheer. 
To  renew  my  salutation, 

Wishing  all  a  happy  year. 


YOUTH.  61 

Joy  be  with  you,  kind  employers ; 

Cheerfulness  inspu-e  you  all ; 
Farmers,  priests,  mechanics,  lawyers, 

Proud  and  humble,  great  and  small ; 
Merchants,  students,  politicians. 

Soldiers,  sailors,  proud  employ  ! 
And  preceptors  and  physicians. 

Welcome  to  this  annual  joy. 

Aged  soldier,  on  whose  features 

Care  and  hardships,  deep  impress'd, 
Tell  me  that  dissolving  nature 

Soon  will  give  thy  soul  to  rest,  — 
Thrice,  thrice  welcome  to  this  pleasure 

Those  whose  persevering  sword 
Purchased  dear  the  hard-bought  treasure, 

Independence,  for  thy  blood  ! 

Ye,  who  fight  my  country's  battles 

(Bold  t' avenge  her  freemen  slain), 
Where  the  British  thunder  rattles 

O'er  the  wide  Atlantic  main,  — 
Oh,  how  glad  will  I  your  glory 

Publish  in  my  weekly  round ! 
Proud  to  tell  the  blood-red  story 

Of  your  deeds  with  victory  crown'd. 
May  fresh  laurels  wreathe  your  temples, 

Still  new  victories  raise  your  fame, 
Till  the  British  navy  trembles 

At  a  Yankee  sailor's  name. 

Thou,  too,  soldier,  gallant  warrior, 

May  I  greet  you  with  success  ; 
May  your  arms  strike  deeper  horror 

To  the  cruel  Briton's  breast. 


62  ROSEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

Patriot,  ye  whose  burning  ardor 

Kindles  for  our  country's  weal, 
Who  with  filial  eyes  regard  her, 

And  with  an  unshaken  zeal,  — 
Oft  have  heav'n's  peculiar  favors 

Crown'd  her  arms  with  victory  ; 
Oft  succeeded  her  endeavors 

To  maintain  her  dignity. 
They  who  fought  by  Erie's  waters, 

Wellington's  European  band, — 
Foil'd  the  foe  with  dreadful  slaughters,  • 

Have  immortalized  the  land. 
Son  of  glory,  brave  McDonough, 

And  Macomb,  an  equal  name. 
They  have  gain'd  eternal  honor, 

Raised  themselves  to  endless  fame. 


Playmates,  while  this  day  enliv'ning 

Wakes  to  universal  cheer, 
Gayly  let  our  sports  reviving. 

Hail  the  opening  of  the  year. 

And  may  heav'n  crown  with  enjoyment 

Splendid  seats  and  humble  cells ; 
Him  that 's  plac'd  in  high  employment,- 

Him  that  in  retirement  dwells, — 
Thro'  each  change  and  alteration. 

That  completes  the  annual  scene  : 
When  that  passes  in  rotation, 

I'll  salute  you  all  again. 

Now  to  favor  are  you  willing  ? 

It  was  I  your  papers  brought ; 
'T  is  but  one  third  of  a  shilling, 

Give  the  printer's  boy  a  groat. 


YOUTH.  03 

In  the  youthful  enthusiasm  of  his  eighteen  years  —  true  to 
his  Bunker  Hill  blood  —  this  patriotic  poem  for  the  newsboys 
was  written ;  and  in  April,  1815,  shortly  before  leaving  Ports- 
mouth, when  his  teacher  and  fellow-teacher  accepted  the  call  to 
Salem,  he  was  able,  happily,  to  write  for  the  New  Hampshire 
Gazette  the  poem  "Peace." 

In  early  time,  while  Saturn  sway'd 
The  sceptre  in  Hesperia's  land, 
The  Virtues  sought  the  happy  realm, 
And  gave  the  Golden  Age  to  man  ; 
Till  frightened  by  increasing  crimes 
That  oft  assail'd  their  wond'ring  eyes, 
The  band  forsook  their  fav'rite  climes 
And  sought  a  refuge  in  the  skies. 

So  Peace,  astonish'd  at  the  roar 
Of  war  and  carnage  in  the  East, 
With  horror  fled  the  scene  of  gore. 
To  rear  her  temple  in  the  West : 
Where  o'er  Columbia's  thousand  hills 
She  spread  her  harvests,  waving  wide  ; 
And  poiir'd  the  products  of  her  fields. 
In  commerce,  o'er  the  roaring  tide. 
By  pleuty  nurs'd,  her  childreu  rose 
To  boundless  empire  and  renown  ; 
And  ev'ry  bliss  which  earth  bestows 
She  pour'd  in  vast  profusion  'round. 

Go,  soldier,  lay  those  arms  away 
Which  have  so  oft  declar'd  you  brave, 
For  peace  resumes  her  gentle  sway  ; 
Go,  till  the  soil  you  fought  to  save. 
Again  the  herds  and  flocks  shall  spread 
Wide  o'er  the  spacious  hills  and  vales  ; 


64  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

Again  the  harvest  wave  its  head 

In  frolic  to  th'  autumnal  gales. 

The  depth  of  wood  that  shades  the  West 

Where  wild  Missouri's  flood  appears, 

Shall  hear  the  axeman  break  the  rest 

And  silence  of  a  thousand  years  ; 

The  blooming  flow'r  shall  cheer  the  shade 

Thro'  which  Ohio's  bounty  pours  ; 

And  as  by  magic  art  portray'd, 

New  meads  shall  glitter  on  his  shores. 

Th'  unnumber'd  streams  that  roll  their  tides 

Throughout  Columbia's  whole  domain 

Shall  draw  the  treasures  from  their  sides 

And  bear  them  to  the  distant  main. 

Fair  science  here  with  steady  ray 
The  paths  of  early  life  shall  cheer ; 
Till  in  her  courts  of  perfect  day 
The  whole  enlightened  world  appear  ;  — 
Or  from  the  sun  of  genius  pour 
The  philosophic  blaze  abroad, 
And  teach  th'  expanding  mind  t'  explore 
The  beauties  of  the  works  of  God. 
And  as  the  mental  pow'rs  advance, 
Religion  in  her  native  light 
Shall  banish  with  a  single  glance 
The  horrors  of  a  long,  dark  night. 
From  her  shall  flee  each  human  crime  ; 
While  beaming  from  Columbia's  shore, 
Her  rays  shall  fall  on  ev'ry  clime, 
And  war  and  carnage  be  no  more. 

In  August,  1815,  we  find  him  again  at  home  in  Halifax 
writing  a  poem  for  a  Federalist  paper,  the  Brattleboro  Reporter. 
Subject,  "I  Wisdom  dwell  with  Prudence.  —  Proverbs." 

I  select  a  few  verses  :  — 


YOUTH.  65 

Ye,  who  o'er  youth's  illusive  tract 

Ascend  the  busy  stage, 
Where  you,  in  manhood's  garb,  must  act 

The  part  of  ripened  age,  — 
Pause  for  one  moment,  ere  you  gain 
That  varied  scene  of  joy  and  pain. 

Which  now  before  you  lies  ; 
And  if  my  verse  shall  aught  descry, 
Which  else  had  passed  unheeded  by, 

A  pause  may  make  us  wise. 

Would  you  unfold  the  changeful  scene 

Of  life  with  dauntless  breast? 
Let  Prudence  sanction  every  scheme. 

Or  be  the  scheme  suppressed. 
For  youth  is  wild  ;  their  untaught  minds, 
The  glare  of  ardent  fancy  blinds, 

When  brightest  seems  its  ray  ; 
But  if  you  guide  that  wandering  flame, 
'T  will  prove  a  cheering,  faithful  beam, 

To  light  you  on  your  way. 

In  April,  1815,  a  young  lady  for  whom  he  appears  to  have 
had  a  warm  affection  died  at  Leicester,  Mass.  After  he  had 
cherished  her  memory  two  years,  his  feelings  found  expression 
in  verse.     We  quote  two  stanzas  from  "  The  Fragment :  "  — 

And  twice  the  changeful  year  has  roU'd 

Its  seasons  o'er  thy  relics  dear  ; 
And  twice  we  've  seen  the  flow'r  unfold, 

And  shed  its  lonely  blossoms  here  ; 
But  Spring  has  lost  her  power  to  raise 
The  thrilling  bliss  of  former  days. 

What  varied  scenes  have  marked  our  lives, 
Since  we  receiv'd  thy  last  adieu  ! 


66  ROSEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

How  oft  tbe  soothing  tear  revives, 

Lucinda,  and  it  flows  for  you  ; 
For  oh  !  our  brightest  earthly  trust 
Is  gone  —  to  slumber  in  the  dust. 

In  his  two  years  at  Portsmouth,  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  learned 
the  Ballou  theology  which  had  already  supplanted  the  Trini- 
tarian Universalism  among  all  the  clergy  of  the  denomination, 
excepting  only  John  Murray  and  one  of  his  Calvinistic  fol- 
lowers ;  and  here,  too,  the  elder  Ballou  taught  him  there  might 
be  a  period  of  suffering  after  death  for  some  before  the  eternal 
joys  of  immortality  should  be  realized,^  —  and  we  may  add,  this 
doctrine  the  second  Ballou  always  believed  and  taught,  even 
when,  after  the  Turner  discussion,  his  teacher  so  far  changed 
his  early  theology  as  to  teach  that  all  human  suffering  ends 
with  death. 

1  In  1798,  Joel  Foster  says  in  Letter  X  of  the  "  Literary  Correspondence  "  addressed  to 
Hosea  Ballou  (p.  58) :  "  I  recollect  what  you  observpd,  on  the  road  to  Orange  (now  North 
Orange) ,  concerning  your  not  being  established  in  the  point  respecting  any  punishment 
after  this  life.  You  now  profess  yourself  satisfied  in  the  idea  of  a  future  state  of  disci- 
pline, etc.  .  .  .  How  can  you  know  that  the  miseries  of  the  future  life  are  disciplinary  and 
not  rather  strictly  penal?  " 


CHAPTER   IV. 

AT   STAFFORD,   ROXBTJEY,   AND  MEDFOED. 

HoSEA  Ballou,  2d,  preached  his  first  sermon  extempore 
and  without  special  preparation,  the  expected  minister  not 
appearing,  at  a  schoolhouse  (not  now  standing)  near  his 
grandfather,  Benjamin  Ballou's  home  at  "The  Gore,"  in  western 
Franklin  County,  Massachusetts.  His  record  of  the  event 
reads  simply:  '-April,  1816,  Uncle  D.  Ballou's,  S.  H.  W.  pt. 
Rowe,  Rom.  i.  25."  It  is  said  that  he  "  acquitted  himself  with 
credit."  At  the  end  of  the  year  1816  he  had  delivered  forty- 
nine  sermons,  mostly  in  schoolhouses,  in  twelve  towns  in  South- 
eastern Vermont  and  adjoining  parts  of  Massachusetts  and 
New  Hampshire. 

One  year  later,  April  3,  1817,  when  twenty  years  old,  he 
entered  upon  his  first  pastorate  in  the  town  of  Stafford,  in 
Northern  Connecticut,  declining  a  call  to  Waterville,  Me.,  as 
it  was  farther  from  home.  The  Universalists  of  Stafford 
had  erected  a  meeting-house  (thanks,  perhaps,  to  Rev.  Isaac 
Foster),  which  was  dedicated  on  the  fourteenth  of  November, 
1816,  when  Hosea  Ballou,  then  of  Salem,  preached  the  sermon. 
It  was  the  only  Universalist  meeting-house  in  the  State. 

"  The  place  where  the  old  church  was  located,"  writes  a  more 
recent  pastor  ^  of  the  society,  "  is  known  as  '  Stafford  Street,' 
extending  about  one  mile,  and  very  wide,  so  as  to  leave  a  broad 
margin  of  land  on  either  side  of  the  carriage  road  running 
through  it.  In  later  years,  and  probably  earlier,  these  margins 
were  grown  up  with   blueberry  bushes   and   other  shrubbery, 

1  Personal  letter  of  Eev.  C.  W.  Biildle,  d.d.,  to  the  author  dated  April  30, 1896. 


68  HOSE  A  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

Stafford  Street,  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  century,  was  the 
centre  of  the  business,  social,  and  religious  interests  in  the 
town.  Before  the  days  of  railroads  it  was  on  the  direct  stage 
route  from  Boston  to  Hartford,  and  was  a  busy  thoroughfare, 
passengers  and  horses  stopping  to  be  refreshed  at  the  old  Hyde 
tavern  kept  by  Jasper  H.  Hyde,  who  was  a  prominent  supporter 
of  the  new  Universalist  movement  in  Stafford.  On  either  side 
of  this  long,  broad  highway  were  dwellings  and  sundry  other 
buildings.  They  were  erected  on  the  extreme  sides  of  the 
street,  and  stood  opposite  to  each  other,  the  long  distance  inter- 
vening. Here  stood  the  district  schoolhouse,  and  probably  the 
Presbyterian  meeting-house  (which  was  torn  down  within  a 
score  of  years  past),  and  the  village  store,  and  other  points  of 
trade  and  activity.  Upon  this  broad  avenue,  now  almost 
deserted,  except  for  the  lingering  of  a  few  private  residences, 
stood  the  church  in  which  Dr.  Ballon  began  his  ministry.  .  .  . 
The  church  did  not  stand  on  the  line  of  the  other  buildings,  but 
out  in  the  open  land,  not  far  from  the  Hyde  tavern  before 
mentioned,  and,  if  reports  are  true,  there  was  very  familiar 
intercourse  in  the  interim  of  the  services  between  the  con- 
gregation and  the  famous  hostelry,  —  a  not  uncommon  thing  in 
those  times,  given  the  like  facility,  with  church  people  gener- 
ally. The  church  was  a  frame  structure  with  prominent 
steeple,  well  supplied  with  windows,  with  considerable  carving 
and  filigree  work,  and  galleries  running  round  three  sides.  It 
is  said  that  one  of  the  pastors  of  this  church  —  whether  Dr. 
Ballon  or  a  successor,  I  know  not  —  had  great  difficulty  in  con- 
trolling his  risibles  upon  seeing  a  sleepy  member  of  his  congre- 
gation directly  under  the  cage  of  the  gallery,  with  his  head 
thrown  back  and  his  mouth  wide  open,  while  directly  above 
him  in  the  gallery,  was  a  young  chap  holding  in  his  hand  a  quid 
of  tobacco  which  he  was  poising  so  as  to  have  it  enter  the 
cavity  made  by  the  extended  jaws. 


FIRST  UNIVERSALIST  CHURCH  IN  CONNECTICUT. 
BUILT  1816. 


AT  STAFFOBD.  69 

"  This  edifice  remained  standing  many  years  after  its  use  for 
worship  was  discontinued,  was  frequently  visited,  and  gradually 
[about  1865]  demolished,  some  of  its  ornamentations  being  car- 
ried away  by  relic  hunters."  The  picture  of  the  church  here 
presented,  in  its  dilapidated  condition,  is  the  only  one  left  to  us. 

"  But  the  diversion  of  travel  and  trade  from  the  street,  the 
discontinuance  of  the  great  stage  line,  and  the  coming  in  of 
the  manufacturing  interests  which  are  still  prominent  in  the 
town  at  several  centres,  made  it  necessary  for  the  Stafford 
Universalist  parish  to  build  a  church  nearer  a  larger  number  of 
the  population.  Accordingly,  in  1845,  the  present  edifice  was 
erected  in  the  village  of  Stafford  proper,  sometimes  known  as 
*  Furnace  Hollow,'  from  the  smelting  of  iron  ore  in  the 
furnaces  there  —  a  business  in  the  olden  time  of  great  moment. 
The  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  erection  of  the  present  church 
was  celebrated  last  year,  when  the  historian  of  the  occasion 
paid  a  fitting  tribute  to  the  pastorate  and  subsequent  labors, 
both  in  church  and  college,  of  Dr.  Ballou.  But  few  now 
remain  who  have  any  recollection  of  him.  The  Hydes,  the 
Cadys,  the  Scriptures,  the  Pinneys,  the  Fairmans,  the  Converses, 
prominent  in  the  later  days  of  the  parish,  and  whose  memories 
would  have  run  back  to  the  early  days  of  which  we  speak,  have 
passed  away,  leaving  in  some  instances  representatives  in  the 
present  generation  who  are  still  active  in  the  work  started  by 
Dr.  Ballou  when  he  was  in  the  freshness  and  fulness  of  his 
youth.  .  .  .  Ephraim  H.  Hyde,  ex-lieutenant  governor  of 
Connecticut,  still  survives,  and  is  intimately  associated  with  all 
the  events  of  the  Stafford  church.  .  .  .  Dr.  Ballou  did  a  faith- 
ful and,  as  it  has  proved,  a  lasting  work." 

In  effect,  the  whole  State  was  his  parish.  He  preached  at 
E.  Stafford,  W.  Stafford,  Preston,  Hampton,  Norwich,  Hartford, 
Conn.,  and  Weston  (Warren),  Brimfield,  Charlton,  Monson,  and 
Springfield,  Mass.     As  he  journeyed  from  place  to  place,  "  his 


/^ 


70  HOSE  A   BALLOU,   2d,  D.D. 

abounding  yet  quiet  humor,  which  made  sunshine  under  every 
roof  that  covered  him,"  ^  made  him  always  a  welcome  guest. 
He  did  much  to  arouse  the  Universalists  in  Norwich  to  build 
their  first  church  in  1821,^  and  in  1824  the  first  Universalist 
church  was  built  in  Hartford.  In  1817  alone,  he  delivered 
ninety-nine  sermons  in  eighteen  towns.  Still  he  found  leisure 
in  August,  1817,  to  contribute  to  the  second  volume  of  the 
"  Gospel  Visitant  "  the  following  poem.^  Isaiah  xxxii.  2  :  "As 
a  hiding  place  from  the  wind,  and  a  covert  from  the  tempest; 
as  rivers  of  water  in  a  dry  place,  as  the  shadow  of  a  great  rock 
in  a  weary  land." 

When  Fortune's  unpropitious  frown 
Has  darken'd  all  the  prospect  'round  ; 
When  woes  deject,  and  ills  assail, 
We  find  our  wonted  vigor  fail. 
But  when  the  thousand  tempests  rise, 
And  roar  thro'  all  the  troubled  skies, 
Where  shall  the  lonely  pilgrim  gain 
A  covert  from  the  wind  and  rain  ? 
I've  seen,  I  've  felt  the  torrent  shed 
Cold  and  unsparing  on  my  head, 
And  yet  I  found  a  refuge  near. 
From  beating  storms  and  every  fear  ; 
It  was  the  shelter  of  thy  grace, 
My  Lord,  which  form'd  a  hiding  place  ; 
And  rais'd  a  flam'e  of  mercy  there. 
To  cheer  the  wayworn  traveler. 

When  wand'ring  o'er  the  desert  bare 
Of  burning  sands  and  sultry  air, 
My  soul  has  sought  the  region  thro' 
And  found  no  stream  to  greet  my  view  ; 

iRev.  G.  H.  Emerson,  d.d.,  in  Universalist  Quarterly,  vol.  XVIII,  p.  322. 

*  See  Universalist  Miscellany,  December,  1844,  p.  231. 

3  Revised  and  published  in  the  Universalist  Magazine,  vol.  V,  No.  8. 


AT  STAFFORD.  71 

'T  was  then  the  rivers  of  thy  love, 
Desceudiug  from  thy  throue  above, 
Suppli'd  my  wants,  and  sooth'd  my  pain, 
And  rais'd  my  fainting  soul  again. 

"When  in  a  weary  land  I  tire. 
And  all  my  nerveless  pow'rs  expire ; 
While  gathering  foes  permit  no  rest. 
And  swelling  cares  torment  my  breast ; 
And  hardships  still,  an  endless  throng. 
In  sad  perspective  pass  along  ; 
Can  dying  pow'rs,  can  feeble  man 
The  languor  and  the  toil  sustain? 
Ah,  who  could  bear  the  ceaseless  strife. 
That  falls  on  ev'ry  scene  of  life. 
Were  not  a  Rock  in  Zion  found 
O'ershading  all  this  weary  ground  ! 

Again  at  Stafford,  in  May,  1818,  he  writes  for  the  "  Gospel 
Visitant:"  — 

A  HYMN   OF  PRAISE.  1 

Praise  ye  the  Lord  !  around  whose  throne 

All  heav'n  in  ceaseless  worship  waits  ; 
Whose  glory  fills  the  worlds  unknown, — 

Praise  ye  the  Lord  from  Zion's  gates. 

With  mingling  souls  and  voices  join. 

To  him  the  swelling  anthem  raise. 
Repeat  his  name  with  joy  divine. 

And  fill  the  temple  with  his  praise. 

All  gracious  God  !  to  Thee  we  owe 

Each  joy  and  blessing  time  affords ; 
Light,  life  and  health,  aud  all  below. 

Spring  from  Thy  presence.  Lord  of  lords. 

1  Republished  also  in  the  Universalist  Magazine. 


72  ROSEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

Thine  be  the  praise  !  for  Thine  the  love 

That  freely  all  our  sins  forgave  ; 
Pointed  our  dying  eyes  above, 

And  show'd  us  life  beyond  the  grave. 

Immortal  life  !  this  thought  disarms 

The  terrors  of  our  mortal  shore  ; 
It  brings  to  view  immortal  charms, 

When  other  comforts  are  no  more. 

And  Jesus  !  let  Thy  deathless  name 

In  concert  with  the  Father's  rise  ; 
For  Thou  hast  borne  for  us  the  shame, — 

Thou  wilt  exalt  us  to  the  skies. 

Thy  name  be  praised  !  for  worthy  thou 

Unbounded  honors  to  receive  ; 
To  Thee  shall  ev'ry  creature  bow. 

And  everlasting  glory  give. 

The  first  reference  to  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  in  the  early  records 
of  the  General  Convention  of  Universalists  appears  in  1817, 
when,  at  Charlton,  Mass.,  he  was  appointed  on  two  committees, 
one  to  secure  subscriptions  for  a  "  Seminary  of  Science,"  show- 
ing his  educational  bent  thus  early,  before  he  was  twenty -one 
years  of  age.  In  1819  the  Convention  recognized  Nichols 
Academy  as  its  first  denominational  school. 

It  is  interesting  to  observe  his  trend  of  thought  and  mode  of 
expression  at  this  early  period  of  his  career.  On  September  14, 
1819,  at  the  General  Convention  of  Universalists,  holden  at 
Lebanon,  N.  H.,  the  first  sermon  was  preached  by  H.  Ballou,  2d, 
from  the  text :  "  The  Lord  is  good  to  all,  and  his  tender  mercies 
are  over  all  his  works."  —  Psalms  cxlv.  9. 

"In  selecting  a  text  for  the  subject  of  discourse  "  (he  began) 
"it  was  very  desirable  that,  on  such  an  occasion  as  this,  one 
should  be  chosen   whose  primary  and  essential  meaning  is  so 


AT  STAFFORD.  73 

manifest  as  to  be  understood  alike  by  all  denominations.  And 
I  am  happy  in  reflecting  that  the  passage  which  is  now  laid 
before  this  mixed  assembly  is  of  that  kind  ;  that  the  general 
truth  which  it  expresses  is  not  a  point  of  dispute  between  our 
opposers  and  ourselves.  For  there  is,  perhaps,  no  Christian  of 
any  denomination  who  would  be  willing  to  say  that  God  is  not 
good  and  merciful  in  some  way,  nor  at  some  time,  to  every 
creature  he  has  made.  Here  all  our  jarring  sentiments  harmo- 
nize ;  here  we  all  stand  together  like  brethren.  And  from  this 
common  landmark  in  our  faith,  we  venture  forth  into  doctrinal 
inquiries  and  researches,  we  shall  have  the  uncommon  satisfac- 
tion of  knowing  that  we  commenced  our  course  together  ;  and 
this  landmark  will  remain  in  view,  like  a  pillar  of  fire,  to  point 
us  to  our  way,  when  doubt  obscures,  when  stormy  passions  or 
the  strong  currents  of  sectarian  prejudices  separate  us.  ...  In 
short,  every  denomination  would  strenuously  defend  the  simple 
fact  that  the  Lord  is  good  to  all,  that  his  tender  mercies  are 
over  all  his  works,  though  they  may  differ  in  determining  how 
long  this  will  continue  to  be  the  case,  or  in  what  respects  the 
goodness  is  exercised." 

To  suppose  the  contrary,  he  says,  "  would  be  more  blasphe- 
mous than  to  deny  his  power  or  wisdom  ;  for  it  would  be  a  direct 
attack  on  his  moral  character."  He  then  proceeds  to  show 
that  "  the  common  doctrine  of  endless  misery  inevitably  con- 
tradicts our  text;  and  would  prove  that  the  Lord  is  not  good 
to  some,  in  any  period  of  their  existence ;  neither  in  creating 
nor  in  preserving  them  ;  nor  in  giving  them  temporal  comforts, 
nor  in  sending  his  Son  to  die  for  them ;  nor,  finally,  in  consign- 
ing them  to  endless  woe." 

"  We  have  been  taught  that  God  knew,  from  all  eternity, 
that  some  men,  if  created,  would  become  infinite  sufferers  by 
their  existence,  either  through  their  own  perverseness  or  his 
inexorable  decree  ;  and  still  we  are  told  that  with  all  his  fore- 


74  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

sight  he  voluntarily  brought  them  into  being  !  What  can  be 
plainer  than  that  God  could  not  be  good  to  such  wretches,  in 
creating  them,  when  he  foresaw  the  awful  consequence? 
Could  he  even  imagine  that  he  was  conferring  a  benefit  ?  No. 
In  the  very  act,  God  must  know  it  would  be  mercy  beyond 
compare  to  relent  and  leave  the  yet  unconscious  beings  uncre- 
ated ! " 

"  The  father,  who  knowingly  neglects  to  call  his  child  to 
an  account  till  it  may  grow  wicked  enough  to  justify  tenfold 
fury  in  torturing,  is  an  angel  of  mercy  compared  with  the  char- 
acter which  this  conduct  gives  to  our  Father  in  heaven." 

Having  "  sought  for  the  mercy  of  God  towards  the  supposed 
heirs  of  endless  woe  ...  in  their  creation  and  in  their 
preservation,"  all  in  vain,  he  asks  :  "  Will  it  now  be  said  that 
the  Lord  is  good  and  merciful  toward  them,  at  least,  when  he 
gives  them  the  comforts  of  this  life,  the  blandishments  of  for- 
tune, and  the  endearments  of  society?  But  I  appeal  to  you, 
rational  and  candid  hearers,  does  not  the  doctrine  under  con- 
sideration teach  that  all  these  flattering  enjoyments  will  be 
brought  into  the  condemning  account  at  that  tremendous  bar 
where  hope  expires  and  mercy  is  unknown  ?  " 

But  it  is  said,  the  Scriptures  "  speak  of  everlasting  punishment 
in  so  many  ivords ;  and  of  the  smoke  of  torments  ascending  up 
for  ever  and  ever.'''  "■  But  surely,  men  and  brethren,"  he  replies, 
"the  fallacy  of  this  objection  is  now  too  generally  known  to 
render  a  labored  reply  necessary.  What  Christian  pretends  to 
believe  that  every  subject  to  which  these  indefinite  words  are 
applied  is  endless  ?  They  are  certainly  no  more  proof  of  the 
eternity  of  punishment  than  of  the  eternity  of  the  ancient 
Mosaic  rituals.  Everlasting^  for  ever  and  ever,  with  forever  are 
in  the  Scriptures  applied  to  the  ceremonies  of  the  law,  to  the 
Jewish  possession  of  the  land  of  Canaan,  to  the  mountains  and 


AT  STAFFORD.  75 

hills ;  in  short,  to  such  things  as  all  Christians  believe  temporal, 
about  seventy  times ;  and  but  about  a  dozen  times  to  the  idea 
[of]  suffering,  in  all  the  Bible.  If  the  objection  had  any  force, 
what  an  overwhelming  proof  should  we  have  of  the  end- 
less duration  of  these  temporal  objects  !  "  In  conclusion  he 
says :  "  For  eighteen  hundred  years  have  the  prayers  of  all 
saints  arisen  like  a  great  cloud  of  incense  before  the  altar, 
entreating  God  to  save  the  world.  The  truth  of  our  text  is  a 
pledge  that  he  will  not  despise  these  prayers,  which  his  own 
spirit  dictated.''  ^ 

Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  at  only  twenty-two,  already  held  a  high 
place  in  the  esteem  of  the  denomination.  In  1819,  the  General 
Convention  chose  "  Bros.  S.  Streeter,  H.  Ballou,  2d,  and  E. 
Turner  "  a  committee  to  visit  the  Eastern  Association  to  be 
held  at  Paris,  Me.,  in  June,  1820. 

The  General  Convention  in  1820  was  holden  at  Claremont, 
N.  H.,  in  the  hall  of  the  Chase  tavern.  Daniel  Chase,  the 
proprietor,  was  a  devoted  Universalist,  and  the  cause  is  still 
dear  to  many  of  his  widely  scattered  descendants.  Hosea 
Ballou,  senior,  was  appointed  moderator,  and  Hosea  Ballou, 
2d,  also  took  part. 

After  nearly  three  years'  toil  alone  at  Stafford,  Conn.,  Hosea 
Ballou,  2d,  returned  to  Halifax  to  find  a  helpmeet  in  the 
schoolmate  of  his  childhood,  Clarissa  Hatch.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  James  and  Esther  Hatch,  whose  substantial  farm- 
house was  the  nearest  to  the  little  red  schoolhouse  in  Halifax 
where  both  received  the  rudiments  of  education.  She  was  born 
in  Halifax,  May  7,  1795,  and  there  they  were  married  January 
26,  1820.  She  was  a  tall,  slight  woman  of  quiet  manners  and 
retiring  habits,  industrious  and  thrifty  in  the  management  of 
her  household,  and  a  true  helpmeet.  Their  first  child,  Giddings 
Hyde   Ballou,  was  born  November   10,  1820,  and  named  for 

1  For  full  report  see  Universalist  Magazine,  April  15  and  22, 1820. 


76  ROSEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

Giddings  Hyde  of  Stafford.      In  their  social  life  at  Stafford 
they  made  many  warm  friendships. 

In  May,  1821,  their  removal  from  Stafford  was  no  doubt 
arranged  during  a  visit  from  Hosea  Ballon,  senior.  "  Leaving 
Boston  on  Monday  after  the  second  Sabbath  in  May,"  he  writes 
(in  company,  no  doubt,  with  Hosea  Ballon,  2d),  he  "  stopped 
at  Stafford  where  I  preached  on  Thursday  the  same  week." 
Then  he  journeyed  on  to  Hartford,^  where  he  preached  several 
times  at  the  State  House,  also  to  Berlin,  Middletown,  and  Wind- 
sor, and  preached  at  each  place.  Then,  his  record  of  the 
journey  reads :  "  Left  Hartford  on  Monday  morning,  and 
preached  at  Stafford  in  the  afternoon,  and  returned  to  Boston 
on  Tuesday."  2  Before  he  returned  to  Boston,  Hosea  Ballon, 
2d,  had  accepted  the  invitation  of  a  new  Universalist  society  in 
Roxbury,  Mass.,  —  now  a  part  of  Boston,  —  which  had  been 
extended  to  him  May  8,  1821,  to  become  their  first  minister, 
and  the  third  Sunday  in  June  he  closed  his  Stafford  pastorate. 
[n  1798,  Rev.  Elhanan  Winchester  spoke  in  the  First  Church, 
Roxbury,  by  courtesy  of  Rev.  Eliphalet  Porter.  Twenty  years 
later,  on  November  29,  1818,  Rev.  Hosea  Ballon,  senior,  de- 
livered the  first  distinctively  Universalist  sermon  or  evening 
"lecture  "  in  Roxbury,  at  the  Town  Hall,  with  view  of  starting 
a  society.  Early  in  1820,  by  arrangement  with  Rev.  Paul 
Dean,  Rev.  John  Murray's  ^  successor,  the  ministers  of  the  two 
Universalist  churches  in  Boston  began  to  preach  regularly  on 
alternate  Sunday  evenings  in  the  Roxburj*  Town  Hall,  a  two- 
story  brick  building  erected  in  1810-11.  At  this  time  the  First 
Religious  Society  (Congregational),  which  was  founded  two 
years  afier  the   incorporation  of   the  town  in  1630,  and   long 

iHe  particularly  notes  a  visit  to  the  grave  of  Rev.  Elhanan  Winchester  in  Hartford, 
which  was  marked  by  a  gravestone,  erected  by  the  General  Convention  of  Uuiversalists. 

2  See  Universalist  Magazine,  June  9,  1S21. 

s  Murray  was  born  December  10, 1741,  at  Alton,  England,  which  I  found  in  ISSO  to  be 
Still,  as  he  described  it,  a  town  "  environed  by  a  plantation  of  hops." 


AT  EOXBURY.  77 

ministered  to  by  the  Apostle  Eliot,  in  its  early  days,  continued 
to  be  the  only  church  for  a  growing  population  now  numbering 
4,135  inhabitants.  It  was  determined  to  establish  a  church  in 
Roxbury  on  broader  foundations.  Forty-three  signatures  to  a 
"  Petition  for  Incorporation  "  from  Samuel  Parker,  W.  J.  New- 
man, Samuel  S.  Williams  and  associates  secured  from  the 
Legislature  "  An  Act  to  incorporate  the  First  Universalist  So- 
ciety in  Roxbury,"  and  on  February  24,  1820,  it  was  approved 
by  the  governor.'  A  week  later,  Thursday  evening",  March  2, 
the  first  parish  meeting  under  the  charter  was  held  at  the  Town 
House ;  in  three  weeks  the  by-laws  of  the  society  were 
adopted,^  and  on  March  30  a  committee,  chosen  at  the  first 
meeting  "  to  select  a  piece  of  ground,"  reported  a  site  at  a  cost 
of  one  thousand  dollars.  It  was  a  central  lot  of  36,659  square 
feet,^  between  Roxbury  and  Dudley  Streets  and  Guild  Row,  and 
facing  Washington  Street  as  now  laid  out,  the  great  north  and 
south  thoroughfare,  —  Shawmut  Avenue  came  about  thirty -five 
years  later,  —  and  admirably  suited  to  the  needs  of  a  church, 
and  at  the  same  time,  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  shrewd 
real-estate  investor,  had  the  elements  of  large  growth  in  value, 
as  population  increased,  for  business  purposes. 

The  deed  was  executed  on  May  8,  1820,  by  "  Samuel  Wait, 
Esquire,  Eleb  Faxon,  blacksmith,  and  Isaac  Davis,  yeoman," 
their  wives  respectively  duly  releasing  to  "the  First  Universal- 
ist Society  in  Roxbury,"  conveying  "■  a  certain  tract  or  parcel 
of  land  in  said  Roxbury  near  the  Grammar  School  House, 
bounded  Westerly  by  land  of  Cheney  Clark,  Southerly  by 
Dudley  Street,  Easterly  by  a  town  way,  and  Northerly  by  the 
paved  street."  *     This  grammar  school  was  "  The  Free  School 

1  See  leaflet  in  Boston  Public  Library,  shelf  7465, 16. 

''See  Rules  and  By-Laws,  printed  by  H.  Bowen  in  1820,  in  Boston  Public  Library. 
*See  plans  of  1827  and  1829  iu  Records  of  the  Society. 

*  See  Parish  Records,  vol.  I,  p.  14.  It  appears,  then,  that  Drake's  statement  ("  Town  of 
fioxbury,"  p.  51)  that  Roxbury  Street  was  lirst  paved  in  1824  is  erroneous. 


78  HO  SEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

in  Roxburie,"  ^  established  on  the  same  site  about  1645  in  order 
that  "the  scollers  should  not  keep  scool  in  the  meeting  hous." 
Erected  in  1742,  the  third  schoolhouse  on  the  site,  in  1820  a 
second  story  was  added  to  the  building  to  meet  the  increased 
needs  of  the  growing  town,  and  in  1834  it  was  converted  into  a 
business  block.  Dudley  Street  had  been  laid  out  nine  years 
before  through  the  Dudley  estate.  The  "  town  way  "  between 
the  church  and  the  grammar  school  probably  already  covered 
Smelt  Brook,  a  clear  stream  of  considerable  size,  once  a  good 
brook  for  fishing,  which  the  Roxbury  historian^  identifies  as 
the  spring  referred  to  by  John  Dane,  in  "  Remarkable  Provi- 
dences." He  says  :  "  My  first  coming  [1638]  was  to  Roxburey. 
There  I  toke  a  pese  of  ground  to  plant  of  a  frind,  and  I  went 
to  plant  and  having  cept  long  on  the  shep,  the  weather  being 
hot  I  spent  myself,  and  was  veary  wearey  and  thurstey.  I  cam 
by  a  spring  in  Roxburey  Street,  and  went  to  it  and  drunk  and 
drunk  againe  and  againe  manie  times,  and  I  never  drank  wine 
in  my  life  that  more  refresht  me,  nor  was  more  pleasant  to  me, 
as  I  then  absolutely  thout." 

Thomas  Dudley,  second  governor  of  Massachusetts,  was 
once  asked  by  a  body  of  Dutch  and  of  French  Huguenots  in 
Holland  whether  those  differing  from  him  in  opinion,  "yet 
holding  the  same  foundation  in  religion,  as  anabaptists,  anti- 
nomians,  seekers,  and  the  like,  might  be  permitted  to  live  among 
you,"  and  he  gruffly  replied :  "  God  forbid  our  love  to  the 
truth  should  be  grown  so  cold  that  we  tolerate  errors."  He 
took  an  active  part  in  the  banishment  of  Roger  Williams, 
Harris,  Coggeshall,  Bull,  and  Mrs.  Hutchinson ;  and  it  is  prob- 
able that  but  for  the  Puritan  intolerance  of  his  age,  the  first 
Mathurin  Ballon  and  his  young  bride  would  have  lived,  reared 

1  See  Charles  K.  Dillaway's  history  of  this  school  — the  nursery  of  many  noted  states- 
men and  divines. 

2F.  P.  Drake,  "  Town  of  Roxbury,"  p.  303. 


FIRST   UNIVERSALIST   CHURt'H  OF  ROXBITRY,  1821. 


AT  ROXBUBY.  79 

their  family,  and  died  in  Dorchester  or  Roxbury,  without  ever 
setting  eyes  on  Narragansett  Bay.  But  the  whirligig  of  time 
brings  its  revenge.  In  1821,  on  the  site  of  the  dwelling  of 
Thomas  Dudley,  the  most  intolerant  of  Puritans,  stands  a 
Universalist  church,  with  a  Ballon,  the  descendant  of  those 
hated  heretics  of  the  early  days,  as  its  minister. 

In  that  old  Dudley  mansion,  too,  lived  his  son,  Governor 
Joseph  Dudley,  his  daughter  Anne,  wife  of  Governor  Brad- 
street,  who  was  the  first  in  America  to  publish  a  volume  of 
poems,  it  is  said ;  and  scarcely  less  famous,  the  grandson,  Paul 
Dudley.  And  when,  a  few  days  after  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill,  the  mansion  was  destroyed,  there  American  batteries  were 
planted  when  Washington  occupied  Dorchester  Heights.  To  a 
young  man,  who,  like  Hosea  Ballon,  2d,  has  a  passion  for  history, 
such  associations  are  an  inspiration. 

The  corner-stone  was  laid  in  August,  1820,  and  on  the  fourth 
day  of  January,  1821,  the  completed  church  was  dedicated,  Hosea 
Ballon,  senior,  preaching  the  sermon  from  Mai.  iii.  10.  No  doubt, 
Hosea  Ballon,  2d,  was  present,  for  the  preceding  day  he  was  in 
Boston,  and  offered  the  concluding  praj-er  at  the  installation  of 
Rev.  Elias  Smith  as  pastor  of  the  sliort-lived  Third  Universalist 
Society.  He  had  rarely  been  in  Boston  then  ;  his  first  sermon  in 
the  vicinity  was.delivered  in  the  Universalist  Church  in  Charles- 
town,  July  3,  1819,  and  his  second  sermon  the  third  Sunday  of 
the  following  September  in  the  School  Street  Church.  The 
dedication  services  were  most  impressive.  The  plan  of  the 
church  was  as  follows,  namely  :  "  House,  74  feet  long  and  60  feet 
wide,  with  a  Tower  IG  feet  square,  and  55  feet  high,  with  a  pro- 
jection on  each  side  of  10  feet,  making  the  Tower  36  feet  at  the 
Bottom.  The  Posts  of  the  main  House  to  be  28  feet  high."  ^ 
With  "  94  pews  on  the  floor,"  the  probable  expense  was  esti- 
mated  at   i9,000.     The    plan    was  slightly    changed  to   make 

1  See  Records  of  Society,  vol.  1,  p.  13. 


80  HOSE  A  BALLOU.  2(1.  D.D. 

ninety-six  pews  on  the  floor  and  twenty-four  pews  in  the  gallery. 
The  former  were  appraised  ^  at  from  860  to  8200  each,  a  total 
of  813,000 ;  the  latter  at  from  850  to  8t)5,  a  total  of  81,350. 
By  the  treasurer's  accounts,  as  audited  and  approved  February 
27,  1821,  he  had  paid  out  810,853.24,  but  part  of  it  was 
borrowed  money .^ 

The  society  "Voted,  That  eight  per  cent  be  paid  ...  by 
those  that  hire  pews  on  the  valaation  towards  the  support  of 
preaching  and  other  necessary  expenses."  Also,  ''  Voted,  The 
Standing  Committee  be  authorized  to  procure  preaching  for  a 
term  not  exceeding  six  months."^  By  vote,  the  society  also 
invested  in  a  "  bass  viol." 

The  first,  second,  and  third  Sundays  in  January,  1821,  Hosea 
Ballon,  2d,  preached,  morning  and  evening,  in  the  new  Roxbury 
Church  ;  again  on  Fast  Day,  and  again  on  the  first  and  second 
Sundays  in  May ;  and  on  the  fourth  Sunday  in  June,  he  began 
to  preach  regularly  there. 

At  a  meeting  on  the  eighth  of  May,  1821,  the  society  "  Voted, 
That  Major  Seth  JohnsoD,  William  Hannaford,  Elisha  Wheeler, 
Isaac  Gale,  Edward  Turner,  Thomas  Mayo,  and  Samuel  S. 
Williams  be  a  committee  to  ascertain  on  what  terms  the  Rev. 
Hosea  Ballon,  2d,  will  engage  with  the  society."  ^ 

May  11,  the  committee  reported  that  Mr.  Bt^llou  '•  informed 
them  that  he  was  under  an  engagement  to  a  society  in  Stafford, 
Conn.,  which  he  must  consider  as  binding  on  him  unless 
they  would  consent  to  release  him  from  their  society,  in  which 
case  he  should  be  happy  to  enter  into  an  engagement  with  this 
society.  With  lespect  to  the  terms,  he  informed  them  that  he 
should  choose  that  the  society  should  make  him  such  compen- 
sation for  his  services  as  they  should  deem  proper  and  reason- 
able in  preference  to  his  naming  any  definite  sum  himself."  A 
characteristic  reply ! 

1  January  11, 1S21,  Records  of  Society,  vol.  I,  pp.  23-25. 

2  See  Records  of  Society,  vol.  I,  p.  u3.  ^  md.,  pp.  34,  35.  *  Ibid.,  p.  37. 


AT  BOXBUBY.  81 

The  society  at  Stafford  was  requested  "  to  relinquish  their 
claim  to  his  services,"  and  it  was  "  Voted,  That  the  society  offer 
Mr.  Ballou  six  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  to  preach  for  them  one 
year."  ^ 

The  installation  was  Thursday,  July  26,  1821.  The  large 
choir  in  attendance  rendered  the  anthem  "  The  Great  Jehovah 
is  our  awful  Theme  "  in  opening  the  services ;  Rev.  Joshua 
Flagg,  of  Scituate,  offered  the  opening  prayer;  Rev.  Richard 
Carrique,  of  Attleboro,  the  prayer  of  installation ;  Rev.  Paul 
Dean,  of  the  First  Universalist  Society,  Boston,  preached  the 
installing  sermon  from  2  Corinthians  vi.  3,4:  "Giving  no 
offence  in  anything,  that  the  ministry  be  not  blamed,  but  in  all 
things  approving  ourselves  as  the  ministers  of  God ; "  ^  Rev. 
Hosea  Ballou,  of  the  Second  Uiiiversalist  Society,  Boston,  gave 
the  charge  ;  Rev.  Edward  Turner,  of  Charlestown,  the  right 
hand  of  fellowship  ;  and  Rev.  Elias  Smith  (he  of  the  changeable 
mind),  of  the  new  Third  Universalist  Society  in  Boston,  offered 
the  concluding  prayer.  The  services  ended  with  an  original 
hymn  by  Mr.  John  Howe  of  Roxbury.  A  printed  copy  of 
the  hymn,  as  well  as  of  Mr.  Turner's  admii-able  address,  and  of 
Hosea  Ballou's  charge,  is  preserved.^  In  the  "  delivery  of  the 
Scriptures  and  charge,"  Hosea  Ballou  said  with  deep  feeling 
as  he  called  vividly  to  mind  the  twenty-four  years  of  the  young 
man's  life  :  "  God  having  opened  your  eyes,  even  in  tender 
youth,  to  see  and  to  believe  in  the  impartiality  of  his  goodness 
to  the  human  family,  it  will,  no  doubt,  be  your  peculiar  pleas- 
ure and  delight  to  dwell  on  those  sweet  and  soul-rejoicing  sub- 
jects which  present  a  God  of  boundless  love  and  mercy  to  your 
congregation ;  a  Saviour  who  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all 
men,  who  is  the  propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world.  .  .  . 

1  See  Records  of  Society,  vol.  I,  p.  38. 

-  See  a  copy  of  this  sermon  printed  by  H.  Bowen,  24  pp.,  8vo,  in  Boston  Public  Library. 
No.  25  in  shelf  7465,  16. 

3  See  copy  in  Boston  Public  Library,  pp.  17-23. 


83  HOSEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

And  may  it  please  the  Head  of  the  Church  to  make  you  a  last- 
ing blessing  to  the  people  of  your  charge,  that  many  may  say, 
in  days  which  are  to  come,  '  This  is  our  friend,  who  taught  us 
the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  love  of  our  Heavenly  Father, 
and  the  hope  of  eternal  life.' 

"  And  when  your  ministry  shall  be  brought  to  a  happy,  a 
peaceful  conclusion,  may  your  memory  be  as  sweet  as  your 
labors  shall  have  been  faithful,  as  a  good  steward  of  the  mani- 
fold grace  of  God." 

On  returning  home  to  Charlestown,  Rev.  Edward  Turner 
wrote  he  had  "  attended  the  solemn  exercises  at  the  installation 
of  our  worthy  brother,  Mr.  Ballou.  The  house  was  filled  to 
admiration  ;  and  the  same  glow  of  spirit,  the  same  fervor  of 
affection,  seemed  to  glow  in  every  countenance.  .  .  .  The  charge 
by  the  Rev.  H.  Ballou  was  in  glowing  language,  and  most 
powerfully  and  feelingly  expressed."  ^ 

In  1821,  Roxbury  was  a  sparsely  settled  suburban  town  of 
about  four  thousand  one  hundred  people.  Even  Boston,  with 
about  forty-three  thousand  inhabitants,  was  like  an  overgrown 
town  of  our  day ;  witness  the  change  of  the  date  of  dedication 
of  the  School  Street  Church  from  Wednesday  to  Thursday, 
October  10,  1817,  "  as  there  was  a  misapprehension  of  tlie  day 
of  the  Cattle  Show  at  Brighton."^  Those  who  did  not  go  to 
Boston  for  business  were  chiefly  engaged  in  tanneries  and  in 
tilling  the  meadows  and  the  arable  land  about  the  huge  rocky 
ledges  which  in  1630  gave  to  the  town  its  name,  Rocksborough 
or  Rocksbury.  There  were  no  street  lights,  no  newspapers,  no 
banks.  The  few  stores  were  in  Roxbury  Street.  From  the  new 
church  to  the  State  House  the  distance  was  about  two  and  three 
fourths  miles.  The  peninsula  of  solid  land  on  which  the  origi- 
nal town  of  Boston  was  built  was  joined  to  the  mainland  only 

1  See  Universalist  Magazine,  August  4,  1821. 

^  Records  of  Second  Society  of  Universalists  in  Boston,  vol.  I. 


AT  ROXBURY.  83 

at  Roxbuiy  by  the  present  course  of  Washington  Street,  and 
by  a  neck  of  land  so  low  and  narrow  that  the  ocean  in  a  storm, 
particularly  at  high  tide,  often  washed  across  Roxbury  Neck, 
as  it  was  called,  and  joined  the  waters  of  the  Charles  River 
basin.  Even  the  old-time  milldam  had  not  then  come.  No 
one  then  had  dreamed  of  the  possibility  of  the  vast  areas  of 
made  land  which  have  converted  unsightly  wastes  of  early 
daj's  into  the  densely  populated  Back  Bay  and  South  End  of 
the  present  day.  Roxbury's  two  gates  alone  separated  Boston 
from  the  mainland,  the  inner  gate  at  Dover  Street,  the  outer 
gate  at  about  Woodbury  Street.  Roxbury  Neck  had  an  unsa- 
vory reputation  ;  lawlessness  aside,  it  was  indeed  forbidding  and 
desolate.  It  was  attractive  only  when  covered  deep  with  snow, 
when  it  was  the  favorite  resort  of  sleighing  parties.  The  only 
public  conveyance  to  Boston  was  a  two-horse  stagecoach,  leav- 
ing once  in  two  hours.  Five  years  later  the  "  hourlies  "  began 
to  run.  But  most  people  walked  to  and  fro,  and  fond  of  pedes- 
trian exercise  as  he  always  was,  Hosea  Ballon,  2d,  could  be 
seen  walking  across  the  Neck  several  times  a  week  in  all  kinds 
of  weather.  The  Roxbury  historian  says :  "  Even  the  ladies 
walked  in  and  out  of  town  over  the  Neck,  and  carried  home 
the  bundles  containing  their  purchases."^  But  sometimes  it 
was  hardly  safe  for  them.  It  was  a  rendezvous  for  marketing, 
and  the  "  Point,"  especially,  was  the  scene  of  many  drunken 
brawls.  Intemperance  was  prevalent.  To  bring  about  a  reform 
the  young  pastor  bent  his  energies.  Fifty  years  later.  Rev.  Dr. 
W.  H.  Ryder  said :  "  Dr.  Ballou  found  in  a  layman  of  the  town, 
Edwin  Lemist,  a  faithful  coworker,  and  they,  for  a  time,  led 
in  the  warfare  against  intemperance  and  disorder.  And  so 
thoroughly  did  the  faithful  pastor  do  his  work  in  this  respect, 
that  he  impressed  his  views  and  feelings  upon  the  entire  parish, 
so  that  through  all  its  history  the  First  Universalist  Society  in 

1  '•  The  Town  of  Roxbury,"  by  F.  S.  Drake,  p.  51. 


84  HOSE  A   BALLOU,   2d,    D.D. 

Roxbury  has  been  the  friend  of  temperance  as  well  as  relig- 
ion." ^  A  year  before  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  came  to  Roxbury,  it  is 
recorded  that  "  two  young  men,  to  close  a  drunken  nocturnal 
frolic,  broke  into  Rev.  Dr.  Porter's  church,  tore  the  cushions  in 
pieces,  destroyed  the  Bible,  removed  the  hearse  from  the  grave- 
yard, and  performed  other  acts  equally  disgraceful."  In  the 
same  year  an  observer  wrote  :  "  The  interest  in  religion  had  so 
far  declined,  that  although  there  are  in  the  First  Parish  of 
Roxbury,  completed  and  building,  three  churches  within  the 
compass  of  a  few  rods,  those  who  prefer  to  spend  their  Sabbath 
in  regular  worship  to  lounging  about  taverns  and  pilfering  in 
the  fields  but  half  fill  a  single  one."  ^  At  the  outset  he  found 
that  the  present  needs  of  the  society  would  have  been  as  well 
met  with  a  church  only  half  as  large ;  yet  he  went  to  work  at 
once  to  fill  it.  But  his  aims  were  intensive  as  well  as  exten- 
sive. Especially  he  directed  his  efforts  to  the  organization  in 
the  society  of  a  "  Church  of  Christ "  —  an  unusual  thing  among 
Universalists  in, those  days — and  on  the  first  anniversary  of 
the  dedication  of  the  church  edifice,  January  4,  1822,  a  church 
of  twenty-two  members  was  publicly  recognized.  He  preached 
morning  and  evening.  ^ 

From  the  picture  of  the  church  on  another  page  the  reader 
may  get  an  accurate  impression  of  its  exterior.  Not  so  the 
interior.  Large  square  pews  were  in  use,  similar  to  those  still 
in  use  in  King's  Chapel,  Boston.  Opposite  the  entrance  a  high 
pulpit,  and  no  organ.  The  choir  loft  was  in  the  front  gal- 
lery over  the  vestibule,  and  opposite  the  minister.  An  orchestra 
of  stringed  and  wind  instruments  played  accompaniment  to  the 
choir.     A  youthful  worshiper  ^  in  that  church  gave  us,  in  1871, 

1 "  See  "  Semicentennial  Memorial  of  tlie  Universalist  Church  of  Roxbury,"  p.  71. 

2  "  The  Town  of  Koxbury,"  by  F.  S.  Drake,  p.  295. 

3  See  sermon  by  H.  Ballou,  2il,  prciiched  the  evening  of  third  Sal)bath  in  .January, 
1822,  from  Gal.  iii.  8,  in  Bo'^lon  Public  Library,  No.  7465, 16. 

*  Rev.  Benton  Smith.    See  Memorial  volume,  p.  85. 


AT   BOXBUBY.  85 

the  following  recollections:  "I  remember  this  church  as  it  was, 
with  its  uncarpeted  floor,  its  high  pulpit,  its  stovepipes  carried 
through  the  windows  upon  either  side,  because  tlie  house 
was  built  without  chimneys.  I  can  remember  carrying  the  foot- 
stove  into  our  pew  for  mother  and  sisters.  How  well  I  recall 
the  familiar  scene  of  the  loved  pastor  of  those  days  coming  up 
the  centre  aisle,  introducing  his  family  to  their  pew,  and  then 
disappearing  through  that  mysterious  door  which  led  to  the 
large  and  wonderful  pulpit !  "  The  venerable  Dr.  Lucius  R. 
Paige  tells  me  he  distinctly  remembers  Hosea  Ballon,  2d,  as  he 
appeared  in  1823,  —  bright  blue  eyes,  smooth  shaven  face,  hair 
auburn  with  a  tinge  of  red,  and  head  carried  a  little  forward 
from  the  erect  posture,  as  in  later  years. 

In  those  early  days  before  it  became  second  nature  for  Hosea 
Ballon,  2d,  to  utter  his  thoughts  chiefly  through  his  pen, 
his  carefully  prepared  sermons  he  delivered  usually  with- 
out notes.  Says  one  ^  who  first  knew  him  early  in  his  Roxbury 
pastorate,  and  lyiew  him  well :  "  As  a  preacher  he  was  somewhat 
slow  of  utterance,  simple,  plain,  lucid,  direct  to  the  point,  emi- 
nently instructive, —  free  from  all  rant  and  fanciful  rhetorical 
flourish."  And  again  :  "  He  had  none  of  that  brilliancy  that 
dazzles,  astonishes,  and  captivates  the  multitude,  or  even  the 
comparatively  small  multitude  who  gyrate  in  the  literary  atmos- 
phere and  sip  only  intoxicating  nectar  from  the  flowers  of 
genius.  Such  would  deem  him  dull  and  commonplace.  His 
whole  make-up  was  of  solid  and  intrinsic  worth,  free  from  glitter, 
ostentation,  assumption,  and  pretension.  .  .  .  He  was  a  pro- 
foundly religious  man,  without  the  help  of  artificial  stimulants, 
and  without  exuberant  demonstrations  or  formalistic  sanctity. 
He  was  an  exemplary  moralist  from  well-settled  general  prin- 
ciples, and  with  few  specialities.  He  was  a  clear,  discriminat- 
ing  thinker   and  reasoner,   under   the   inspirations  of  patient 

1  Rev.  Adin  Ballou,  in  "  Ballous  in  America,"  p.  756. 


86  ROSEA   BALLOU  2d,    D.D. 

common  sense,  downright  honesty,  and  unsophisticated  natural 
logic.  .  .  .  Few  pastors  ever  watched  over  their  flocks  more 
diligently,  faithfully,  and  successfully,  and  few  were  more 
beloved  by  the  old  and  young."  Referring  to  his  social  charac- 
teristics, the  same  writer  says :  "  In  private  life  and  ordinary 
social  intercouise,  though  both  [Hosea  Ballon,  senior,  and 
Hosea  Ballou,  2d]  were  kind-hearted,  Hosea,  2d,  was  the  more 
winsome  to  strangers  and  diffident  persons,  and  more  adapted 
to  inspire  confiding  personal  friendship.  He  was  a  man  to  be 
loved,  as  well  as  respected  and  trusted.  What  such  a  man  must 
be  in  his  domestic  circle  and  intimate  associations  need  not  be 
specifically  described.  He  must  be  pleasant,  agreeable,  and 
lovable ;  especially  when  inexhaustible  and  witty  good  humor, 
as  in  this  case,  spiced  all  the  other  qualifications."  Says  an 
honored  layman  ^  who  was  a  child  at  the  Roxbury  church  under 
Mr.  Ballou  :  "  With  all  my  veneration  for  him,  he  did  not  inter- 
est me  as  a  child  —  perhaps  no  one  would  !  I  used  to  turn  my 
attention  to  building  houses  with  hymn  books."  ^  Thomas  Starr 
King  once  said :  "  I  can  hardly  remember  when  in  childhood  I 
did  not  look  up  to  that  forehead  and  those  blue  eyes  as  the  ex- 
pression of  a  noble  Christian  integrity,  wisdom,  and  purity."  ^ 

Rev.  Dr.  W.  H.  Ryder,  in  referring  to  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  and 
the  early  days  of  the  society,  a  half  century  later,  says :  "  The 
young  pastor  began  his  work  at  once  and  in  earnest.  He  had 
almost  everything  to  do.  The  affairs  of  the  society  not  only 
required  his  attention,  but  the  unorganized  condition  of  the  de- 
nomination, and  the  imperfect  state  of  biblical  criticism  among 
his  brethren  in  the  ministry,  elicited  his  sympathy  and  kept  him 
constantly  at  work.  He  was  a  thorough  student,  both  by  nature 
and  habit,  and  soon  took  the  foremost  place  in  the  denomina- 
tion as  a  clear  thinker  and  trusty  scholar. 

1  Henry  D.  Williams. 

"  Richard  Frothingham's  "  Tribute  to  Thomas  Starr  King,"  p.  45. 


AT  EOXBURT.  87 

"  At  the  time  of  Dr.  Ballou's  settlement  here  there  were  in 
the  United  States  some  fifty  preachers  of  our  order.  They  were 
for  the  most  part  widely  separate  from  each  other,  connected 
with  small,  poor  parishes,  if  settled  at  all,  and  everywhere 
'  spoken  against.'  The  General  Convention  was  then  always  a 
memorable  occasion.  The  facilities  which  now  exist  for  social 
intercourse  were  then  unknown,  so  that  the  preachers  seldom 
met.  In  the  autumn  after  Mr.  Ballou  came  to  Roxbury  he 
attended  the  Convention,  which  met  that  year  in  Hudson, 
N.  Y.  He  went  in  a  chaise,  accompanied  by  Father  Ballou. 
They  left  Roxbury  at  the  close  of  the  morning  service  on  Sun- 
day, and  reached  Hudson  on  Tuesday  afternoon."  ^  Tuesday, 
September  18,  the  Convention  met,  and  was  opened  with  prayer 
by  the  venerable  Rev.  David  Ballou,  of  Rowe,  Mass.,  the  father 
of  Rev.  Moses  Ballou,  and  elder  brother  of  Father  Ballou.  Tin-ee 
days  before,  he  had  passed  his  sixty -third  birthdaj^  and  the  best 
of  those  sixty-three  years  had  been  devoted  to  itinerant  preach- 
ing, in  Northwestern  Massachusetts  and  in  Southern  Vermont 
and  New  Hampshire,  of  the  doctrine  of  universal  salvation.  In 
their  youth  he  had  been  an  influential  religious  adviser  to  the 
two  Hosea  Ballous  now  present.^ 

On  June  17,  1822,  after  a  year's  service,  it  was  "Voted, 
unanimously,  That  the  society  give  the  Rev.  Hosea  Ballou,  2d, 
the  decided  preference  to  supply  the  Pulpit  for  the  year  ensuing. 
Voted,  That  the  Standing  Committee  be  authorized  to  contract 
with  the  Rev'd  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  to  supply  the  pulpit  for  the 
year  ensuing,  for  a  sum  not  exceeding  Seven  Hundred  Dollars."  ^ 
The  sum  of  two  hundred  dollars  was  also  voted  to  provide  music 
for  the  year. 

At  the  annual  meeting  held  in  the  vestry  March  2,  1826,  the 

1  The  "  Semicentennial  Memorial  of  the  Universalist  Church,  Roxbury,  Mass.,"  pp.  G9,  TO. 
-  See  tribute  to  David  Ballou  ;n  Quarterly,  April,  1854,  pp.  Ib5,  186,  by  H.  Ballou,  2d. 
3  Records  of  Society,  vol.  I,  p.  4.'j. 


88  ROSEA   BALLOU,   2d,    D.D. 

society  voted  the  pastor's  salary  of  seven  hundred  and  thirty 
dollars,!  a^j^(j  regularly  at  every  annual  meeting  thereafter  this 
sura  was  voted,  until  the  annual  meeting  held  March  3,  1836, 
when  tlie  pastor's  salary  was  again  increased,  now  to  eight 
hundred  dollars ;  and  March  2,  1837,  and  March  6,  1838,  this 
sum  was  voted  for  the  pastor's  salary. 

But  at  the  outset,  in  building  the  church  the  society  burdened 
itself  with  a  heavy  debt.  Hosea  Ballon,  2d,  was  extremely 
anxious  that  the  debt  should  be  reduced  to  a  safe  limit,  if  not 
indeed  wholly  paid  off,  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.  On 
March  7,  1822,  a  committee  was  appointed  "to  consider  and 
devise  the  most  speedy  and  best  method  to  extinguish  the  debts 
of  the  society."  ^  Two  weeks  later  it  was  announced  that  while 
it  had  been  expected  that  certificates  of  stock  would  be  taken 
in  payment  of  pews,  there  was  pressing  need  of  money,  and  it 
seemed  necessary  for  every  one  to  pay  for  his  pew  a  second  time. 
"  This  proposition  was  presented,"  says  Rev.  A.  J.  Patterson, 
"  and  received  united  approval."  It  was  "  one  of  those  acts  of 
heroic  self-devotion  and  self-sacrifice  which  are  so  rare  among 
men,  and  which  should  be  held  up  forever  as  worthy  of  emula- 
tion and  praise."^  It  was  voted  that  pews  sold  be  paid  for  by 
September  25,  1822.  A  few  who  were  able  to  pay  still  delayed 
paying.  On  May  23,  1823,  John  Lemist  got  judgment  against 
one  J.  W.  Gay  in  a  suit  at  law  for  fifty-five  dollars  and  thirty- 
four  cents,  the  amount  said  Gay  owed  on  pew  No.  93,  and  for 
non-payment  of  the  judgment  Gay  was  sent  "to  Gaol  at  Ded- 
ham."*  From  our  present  point  of  view,  at  the  close  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  it  was  perhaps  a  severe  remedy  ;  it  was  not 

1  Thirty  dollars  to  meet  the  expense  of  attendance  on  the  General  Convention  of  Uni ver- 
salists. 

-Records  of  Society,  vol.  I,  p.  41. 

3"  Semicentennial  Memorial,"  p.  12. 

■*  Recoi'ds  of  Society,  vol.  I,  pp.  52,  53.  John  Lemist  was  a  brother  of  Eilwin  Lemist, 
merchants  on  Washington  Street.    He  lost  his  life  in  shipwreck  in  Long  Island  Sound. 


AT  ROXBUEY.  89 

only  legal,  however,  bat  usual  in  those  days,  and  presumably 
efficacious.  Nevertheless,  six  months  later,  on  Monday,  Novem- 
ber 24,  1823,  the  society  authorized  the  treasurer  to  demand 
pay  due  for  pews,  or  to  accept  "  note  of  hand  payable  on  de- 
mand."^ On  March  29,  1824,  all  pews  unsold  were  then 
offered  for  sale  at  public  auction.  From  this  time  on  the  society 
appears  to  have  prospered  financially,  as  it  did  also  in  the 
number  who  attended  its  services  and  in  its  social  and  spiritual 
life. 

I  trust  I  shall  not  be  charged  with  giving  undue  prominence 
to  the  financial  side  of  a  religious  society  as  a  business  corpora- 
tion. It  is  the  proper  —  sometimes  improper  —  attention  paid 
to  its  financial  management  that  has  made  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  hierarchy  a  formidable  power  for  good  or  ill ;  shrewd 
foresight  and  sound  business  management  have  played  no  in- 
considerable part  in  making  other  Protestant  sects — the  Con- 
gregationalist,  the  Presbyterian,  the  Unitarian,  the  Episcopalian, 
etc.  —  the  prosperous  and  powerful  organizations  they  are  to- 
day. A  religious  society  as  a  business  corporation  must  be 
managed  on  business  principles  ;  and  those  who,  in  the  future, 
have  the  responsibility  of  organizing  new  Universalist  societies 
cannot  overestimate  the  importance  of  starting  right.  The  far- 
seeing  real-estate  investor  seeks  a  central  corner  at  a  moderate 
price  ;  the  experienced  and  successful  retail  merchant  locates 
where  the  buyers  congregate ;  if  a  church  is  to  have  a  lasting, 
prosperous  existence,  it  must  have  a  permanent  home,  so  located 
as  to  meet  present  needs  and,  in  a  measure,  to  anticipate  the 
growth  of  the  near  future.  The  struggle  of  the  First  Univer- 
salist Society  in  Roxbury,  the  first  few  years  of  its  existence,  to 
keep  expenses  within  the  income  of  the  society,  and  to  pay  off 
the  debt  of  the  society,  made  possible  the  magnificent  new 
church  in  which  that  society  now  worships. 

1  Records  of  Society,  vol.  I,  p.  54. 


90  HOSE  A  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

It  came  about  in  this  way  :  The  lot  of  ground  for  which  the 
society  paid,  in  1820,  one  thousand  dollars,  and  the  use  of  which 
it  has  since  enjoyed  free  of  taxes,  has  increased  in  market 
value  for  seventy-six  years  an  average  of  fully  one  thousand 
dollars  a  year,  or  one  hundred  per  cent  per  annum  on  the  origi- 
nal purchase  price.  Does  the  statement  seem  incredible?  Here 
are  the  facts :  For  two  street  widenings  the  city  has  paid  the 
society  for  land  taken,  free  of  betterments,  about  four  thousand 
dollars ;  there  are  remaining  of  the  original  purchase  34,179 
square  feet  of  land  which  were  valued  by  the  city  in  1895  for 
purposes  of  taxation  at  iB71,800,  and  for  which  a  bona  fide  offer 
of  f  80,000  has  been  made. 

Nor  is  this  experience  unique.  If  I  may  be  permitted  to 
digress  so  far  as  to  cite  an  illustration  in  the  society  to  which 
the  First  Universalist  Society  of  Roxbury  mainly  owes  its  birth, 
the  Second  Universalist  Society  in  Boston,  of  which  the  first 
Hosea  Ballou  was  the  first  pastor,  had  a  similar  experience. 
On  April  28,  1817,  John  Brazer,  acting  for  the  new  society, 
bought  of  Joseph  Foster  a  lot  of  irregular  shape,  with  a  front- 
age of  forty  feet  on  School  Street,  Boston,  with  a  depth  of 
about  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet,  for  seven  thousand  dollars, 
and  at  the  same  time  gave  back  a  mortgage  for  the  full  pur- 
chase price  payable  in  eight  months.^  On  May  2,  1817,  he 
bought  of  the  estate  of  Dr.  John  Warren  another  lot  of  irregu- 
lar shape  adjoining  the  first  purchase  on  the  west,  and  having  a 
frontage  of  thirty-seven  feet  and  six  inches  on  School  Street, 
and  a  depth  of  about  one  hundred  and  seventy-three  feet,  for 
■^4,845,  and  he  also  gave  back  a  mortgage  for  the  full  purchase 
price,  payable  one  half  in  eight  months  and  one  half  in  twelve 
months.^  On  May  15,  1817,  an  indenture  was  executed  by 
"  John  Brazer,  Esquire,  of  Boston,  in  the  County  of  Suffolk  of 

1  See  Suffolk  Deeds,  Book  254,  pp.  2S-2-2S4. 

2  See  Suffolk  Deeils,  Book  2J1,  pp.  297,  29S. 


i-  p/' 


AT  ROXBURY.  91 

the  one  part,  and  Edmund  Wright,  Levi  Melcher,  and  Samuel 
Packard,  Jr.,  merchants,"  a  committee  for  and  in  behalf  of 
thirty -six  persons  named,  and  others  unnamed,  "  subscribers  for 
the  purpose  of  erecting  a  meeting-house  in  School  Street  for  the 
Second  Society  of  Universalists  in  the  Town  of  Boston,"  for 
a  nominal  consideration,  they  assuming  and  agreeing  to  pay 
the  above-named  mortgages.  On  January  2  and  3,  1818, 
respectively,  the  mortgages  were  released  on  the  margin  of  the 
record.  For  fifty-five  years  that  society  enjoyed  the  use  of  the 
School  Street  property,  free  of  taxes,  when  (in  1872)  they 
erected  a  store  and  office  building  on  the  site,  and  erected  a 
new  church  in  the  new  residential  quarter  of  the  city ;  but  the 
land  ^  for  which  (improvements  aside)  $11,845  was  paid  in 
1817,  was  in  1895  valued  by  the  city  for  purposes  of  taxation 
at  -$269,200,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  it  could  now  be  bought  at  a 
much  larger  sum,  with  the  cost  of  building  added.  On  the 
basis  of  assessed  valuation,  there  has  been  an  average  increase 
in  land  value  of  $3,300  a  year  for  seventy-eight  years,  or  about 
twenty-eight  per  cent  per  annum  on  the  original  purchase 
price.  That  original  investment  has  proved  a  tower  of  strength 
to  the  society  for  many  a  long  year,  and  appears  to  assure  a  yet 
longer  record  of  usefulness  in  the  future. 

These  are  not  exceptional  cases.  In  New  York,  Philadelphia, 
Chicago,  Minneapolis,  and  many  other  large  and  growing  cities 
these  two  instances  may  be  paralleled.  These  facts  of  finance 
are  not,  and  ought  not  to  be,  mentioned  in  a  boastful  spirit,  but 
merely  to  impress  upon  those  who,  in  the  future,  have  the 
responsibility  of  organizing  new  Universalist  societies,  the 
paramount  importance  of  starting  right  in  locating  and  estab- 
lishing a  permanent  religious  home. 

No  doubt  there  was  some  feeling  of  rivalry  on  the  part  of  the 

iThe  dimensions  of  the  lot  have  been  somewhat  changed,  the  area  now  being  7,690 
square  feet. 


92  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

old  First  Parish  Church  at  Roxbury,  for  more  than  one  house- 
holder took  his  family  down  the  hill  to  the  new  church. 
Among  them  was  Mrs.  Dudley  Williams,^  who,  with  five  sons, 
came  over  from  Dr.  Porter's  church  to  attend  the  initial  meet- 
ings of  Hosea  Ballou,  senior,  in  the  Town  Hall.  When  the 
Sunday-school  was  organized,  August  15,  1830,  she  became  its 
first  superintendent.  Later  her  son,  Dudley  Williams,  was 
elected  to  that  office.  A  story  is  told  of  Nehemiah  Monroe, 
then  a  deacon  in  Dr.  Porter's  church,  and  popularly  called 
"  Deacon  Roe,"  which  is  to  the  point.  The  story  goes,  that  stand- 
ing in  his  doorway  one  morning  soon  after  Hosea  Ballou,  2d, 
settled  in  Roxbury,  he  was  accosted  by  a  stranger  who  asked 
him  if  he  had  "  seen  a  stray  white  horse  passing  that  way." 

"  No,"  he  rephed. 

"  Where  had  I  better  look  for  him  ?  "  asked  the  stranger. 

"  Oh,  well,"  said  the  deacon,  "  p'r'aps  you  'd  better  go  to  the 
Universalist  grounds  ;  'bout  everything  fetches  up  there  nowa- 
days." ^ 

Unwittingly,  he  paid  a  deserved  compliment  to  the  young 
Universalist  minister. 

The  new  society  inherited  many  of  the  traditions  of  the  old : 
lengthy  sermons,^  measured  by  an  hourglass  standing  on  the 
sacred  desk  before  the  preacher's  eyes,  to  measure  out  his  stint ; 
scholarly  and  powerful  sermons  —  for  Dr.  Porter  and  his  seven 
predecessors  were  men  of  great  ability ;  religious  education 
of  the  young—  for  so  early  as  December  6,  1679,  the  records 
of  the  First  Parish  read :  "  this  day  we  restored  our  primitive 

1  She  was  grandmother  of  the  well-known  layman  Henry  D.  Williams,  of  the  firm  Wil- 
liams &  Everett,  Boston. 

=  See  F.  S.  Drake's  "  Town  of  Roxbury,"  p.  159. 

3 "  Note.  —  As  this  sermon  had  not  been  written  when  it  was  delivered,  the  author  trusts 
that  they  who  were  there  present  will  not  expect  to  find  the  following  copy  verbatim." 
Such  is  the  note  on  the  fly-leaf  of  the  printed  sermon  preached  by  Hosea  Uallou,2d,  at  the 
installation  of  Rev.  Thomas  G.  Farnsworth  in  Haverhill,  April  12, 1826.  It  is  not  prenerally 
known  that  in  early  life,  until  his  auburn  hairs  turned  gray,  he  usually  spoke  extempore. 


r;~n  uaa  Bca 

Jig       taa,       -^=== 


SECOND  UXIVERSALIST  CHURCH, 
SCHOOL  STREET,  BOSTON. 


AT  BOXBURY.  93 

practice  for  the  training  up  of  our  youth  ;  first,  our  male  youth, 
in  fitting  season  after  the  evening  services  in  the  public  meet- 
ing-house, where  the  elders  will  examine  their  remembrance 
that  day,  and  any  fit  point  of  catechism  ;  second,  that  our 
female  youth  should  meet  in  one  place,  where  the  elders  may 
examine  their  remembrance  of  yesterday,  and  about  catechize 
or  what  else  may  be  convenient ;  "  ^  like  Nehemiah  Walter,  who 
as  "  teaching  pastor "  united  in  himself  the  functions  of 
Welde,  the  pastor,  and  Eliot,  the  teacher,  of  olden  time,  Hosea 
Ballou,  2d,  was  peculiarly  a  teaching  pastor ;  in  hymnology  — 
for  was  it  not  Thomas  Welde  and  the  Apostle  Eliot,  both  of 
this  church,  who,  with  Richard  Mather  of  Dorchester,  in  1639, 
prepared  "  The  Bay  Psalm  Book,"  the  first  book  printed  in  the 
English  colonies  ?  However,  the  relations  between  Rev.  Hosea 
Ballou,  2d,  and  the  venerable  Rev.  Eliphalet  Porter  were  very 
cordial,  as  also  with  his  successor,  Rev.  George  Putnam,  who, 
long  years  after  Dr.  Ballou  had  passed  on,  said  of  him :  "  He 
welcomed  me  cordially  as  a  neighbor.  .  .  .  He  was  a  scholar,  a 
Christian,  a  wise,  a  prudent,  sound,  earnest,  kindly  man." 

AtRoxbury,  in  February,  1837,  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  completed 
the  "  Universalist  Collection  "  of  hymns,  a  16mo  volume  of  five 
hundred  and  forty  pages,  for  which  B.  B.  Mussey,  the  publisher, 
paid  him  two  hundred  dollars.  In  his  preface,  Mr.  Ballou  says : 
"  It  should  be  observed  that  not  every  species  even  of  good 
poetry,  and  of  the  religious  kind,  is  suitable  for  hymns.  They 
should  be  as  plain  as  possible,  easy  in  their  versification,  and 
yet  full  of  vigorous  or  moving  spiiit.  On  very  impressive  sub- 
jects, the  austerest  simplicity  is  doubtless  preferable  to  the 
more  brilliant  style  which  is  too  often  sought  after."  In  1849 
the  tenth  edition  was  issued.  Says  Rev.  Thomas  Whittemore : 
"  The  hymn  book  went  into  general  use  among  Universalists, 
and  would  have  continued  so  until  the  present  day  had  it  not 

1  See  F.  S.  Drake's  "  Town  of  Roxbury,"  p.  295. 


94  HOSE  A  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

been  for  the  appearance  of  a  book  not  more  valuable,  but  of  a 
more  popular  character,  issued  by  another  publisher  who  had 
facilities  for  controlling  the  market  among  Universalist  soci- 
eties." 1  Here,  too,  in  1833  he  wrote  a  Reply  to  Tract  224  of 
the  American  Tract  Society,  which  added  to  his  reputation. 
But  I  shall  speak  at  length  of  his  literary  work  in  Roxbury  in 
other  chapters,  and  will  only  add  now  that  in  preparation  for 
his  great  work,  as  means  to  an  end,  he  learned  to  read  French, 
German,  and  Greek  with  ease,  becoming  familiar  not  only  with 
their  language  but  with  their  literature  ;  he  perfected  his  early 
knowledge  of  Latin,  and  he  acquired  a  considerable  knowledge 
of  Hebrew.  In  1838  few  college-bred  linguists  were  more  pro- 
ficient than  was  he,  unless,  indeed,  in  the  colloquial  use  of  the 
modern  languages  they  had  perfected  their  pronunciation  by  resi- 
dence abroad.  Still  he  never  neglected  his  pastoral  duties  for  his 
linguistic  studies,  and  he  kept  in  close  touch  with  passing  events. 
His  zest  for  the  town  life  is  well  expressed  in  an 

INVOCATION   TO   WINTER. 

From  polar  workis,  where  endless  frost 
Has  chained  the  ocean  to  the  coast, 
Parent  of  storms,  chill  Winter  !  rise 
And  roll  thy  clouds  o'er  southern  skies. 

On  Greenland's  hills  of  cheerless  white 
Descend,  in  mingled  storm  and  night, 
Burst  her  tall  rocks  with  frightful  roar. 
And  hurl  their  fragments  round  the  shore. 
Thence,  driving  on  the  murky  wave. 
Where  Davis'  flood  and  Hudson's  rave. 
Thine  ice-fields  urge,  through  midnight  seas, 
To  their  tremendous  revelries. 
Sweep  o'er  the  mountains,  from  the  shore 

>  The  Trumpet,  June  IS,  \>'t'^. 


AT  ROXBUBY.  95 

Of  bleak  aud  barren  Labrador  : 
And,  sailing  down  the  frozen  globe, 
Spread  forth  thine  all-investing  robe 
O'er  Canada's  outstretching  scene, 
And  Brunswick's  hills  of  evergreen, 
Till,  last,  amid  our  southern  skies, 
Thy  gathered  tempests  o'er  us  rise. 

Come,  "Winter,  come  !  and  bring  again 

Health,  vigor,  pleasure  in  thy  train. 

The  town  shall  pour  a  joyous  throug 

In  gliding  cars,  the  streets  along. 

To  breathe  fresh  vigor  from  thy  gale^ 

As  forth  they  rush  o'er  hill  and  vale 

With  merry  bells,  whose  mingling  sound 

Shall  ring  through  all  the  country  round. 

Open  Mirth  and  Jollity, 

Dance  and  Frolic,  come  with  thee. 

Labor  looks  with  hearty  smile. 

And  even  Drudgery  rests  awhile. 

But  chief,  O  Winter,  with  thee  bring 

Thy  long  and  hallowed  evening. 

Soon  as  the  short-lived  day  is  past, 

We  '11  close  the  doors  and  shutters  fast ; 

A  blazing  fire  shall  light  the  room, 

And  friends  with  gladdening  looks  shall  come 

To  spend  an  hour,  —  yet  heedless  stay, 

And  charm  the  evening  all  away. 

Or  books  shall  cheer  its  lonely  flight. 

In  study,  till  the  depth  of  night ; 

While  still  with  ceaseless  sigh,  and  slow, 

Descends,  without,  the  drifting  snow  ; 

Or  in  loud  gusts  the  howling  blast 

Shakes  the  firm  roof,  and  hurries  past.^ 

1  In  Expositor,  January,  1832;  revised  1860. 


&6  ROSEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

At  the  home  of  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  on  Zeigler  Street,  Rox- 
bury,  might  have  been  seen  three  fourths  of  a  century  ago  a 
worthy  New  England  example  of  plain  living  and  high  think- 
ing. It  was  in  an  unpretentious  two-story  house,  facing  south, 
with  the  end  toward  the  street,  with  ample  lawn  about  it,  that 
he  lived.  Harrison  Avenue  has  obliterated  the  site.  His  parish- 
ioners, the  Morses,  lived  on  both  sides  of  him.  In  his  study, 
upstairs,  he  stood  a  great  deal  at  a  high  desk  in  writing,  the 
necessary  box  of  sawdust  always  near.  This  desk  is  at  Tufts 
College.  Some  interesting  pieces  of  furniture  in  cherry,  black 
walnut,  and  mahogany,  and  a  handsome  mirror  which  he  had  at 
Roxbury,  are  still  preserved  and  highly  prized.  They  suggest 
an  air  of  quaint  gentility. 

A  cottage  on  Dearborn  Street,  which,  it  is  said.  General 
Dearboin  once  occupied,  was  his  first  Roxbury  home.  With 
an  increasing  family  to  support,  about  1826  he  opened  a  private 
rchool  for  boys  in  his  house  on  Zeigler  Street  —  later  at  the 
corner  of  Warren  Street  —  to  supplement  his  salary  as  pastor. 
The  school  increased  in  numbers  and  prospered.  But  in  1836, 
thanks  to  the  removal  of  the  Roxbury  Latin  School  into  more 
attractive  quarters,  the  number  of  pupils  had  fallen  to  twenty- 
five.  His  brother  Levi  Ballou,  ten  years  his  junior,  who  had 
earned  a  considerable  reputation  in  Halifax  and  Guilford,  Vt., 
as  a  teacher  of  public  schools  and  singing  schools,  was  his 
assistant.  Says  an  aged  Roxbury  Universalist  ^  who  knew 
them  both  :  "  My  father  was  a  close  friend  of  the  Doctor's  and 
took  ray  brother  out  of  the  public  school  and  passed  him  over  to 
the  Doctor  for  an  education,  which  was  of  very  great  benefit  to 
him,  as  to  all  who  received  instruction  from  him.  .  ,  .  He  took 
in  tlie  Doctor's  enthusiasm  for  the  science  of  astronomy."  A 
New  York  clergyman  used  often  to  converse  with  him  and  once 

1  A.  W.  Newman,  who  he  writes  is  "  83  years  youug  the  4th  next  July.  Yea,  the  day 
Is  ever  celebrated !  " 


AT  liOXBUBY.  97 

said,  Mr.  Newman  "  was  the  best  informed  man  in  that  science 
he  had  ever  met  .  .  .  and  both  he  and  I  gave  the  dear  Doctor 
the  credit  for  it  all." 

Before  Hosea  Ballon,  2d,  opened  his  private  school  in  Rox- 
bury,  he  had  been  identified  with  the  public  schools  of  the 
town.  Indeed,  by  right  of  his  sacred  office,  he  had  no  sooner 
settled  in  Roxbury  than  he  was  a  Visitor  of  Schools  by  virtue  of 
the  following  vote  of  the  town,  in  usual  form,  on  March  5, 1821, 
namely :  that  the  "  Visitors  of  Schools  "  consist  of  "•  the  Rev'd 
Clergy  of  the  Town,  Selectmen  and  Town  Clerk,  Town  Treas- 
urer, and  Chairman  of  each  of  the  [District]  School  Commit- 
tees." 1  From  its  general  funds,  the  town  appropriated  in  1821 
only  two  thousand  dollars  for  schools. 

On  February  15, 1825,  "  the  committee  appointed  by  the  Town 
of  Roxbury  to  visit  the  several  schools "  reported  (Jamaica 
Plain  included) :  Number  of  schools,  11  ;  whole  number  of 
scholars  present,  593  ;  whole  number  of  scholars  on  lists  of 
masters,  771.  They  "  found  the  schools  in  a  state  of  gratifying 
improvement  ;  but  believe  still  that  were  each  District  Com- 
mittee to  visit  their  scholars  at  the  first  opening,"  ^  they  would 
thereby  promote  the  best  interests  of  the  schools.  The  two 
evils  against  which  the  school  committee  contended  most  were  : 
first,  truancy  (in  1829,  the  report  states,  more  than  thirty  per 
cent  were  in  the  habit  of  being  absent),  and  second,  lack  of 
uniformity  in  schoolbooks  (if,  indeed,  the  children  had  any 
books  at  all)  ;  and  by  vote,  the  town  now,  in  1829,  for  the  first 
time  supplied  schoolbooks. 

In  1830,  Hosea  Ballon,  2d,  was  again  elected  by  ballot,  with 
Hon.  Henry  A.  S.  Dearborn  and  three  others  in  the  reorganized 
school  board.  From  an  agricultural  community  the  town  was 
now  fast  assuming  a  metropolitan    character,   and   the    school 

1  See  Roxbury  Town  Records,  at  City  Hall,  Boston. 

2  See  Roxbury  Town  Records,  vol.  IV,  p.  370. 


98  ROSEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

committee  recommended  the  establishment  of  graded  schools. 
In  April,  1830,  it  was  voted  that  the  schoolhouses  in  districts 
Nos.  1,  2,  3,  and  4  be  used  thereafter  as  primary  schools,  con- 
sisting of  pupils  under  eight  years  of  age,  to  be  taught  by 
females  ;  and  a  new  school  for  the  four  districts  be  established 
for  pupils  over  eight  years  of  age,  one  department  for  boys  and 
one  for  girls,  to  be  taught  by  two  masters.  In  1882  the  town 
of  Roxbury  was  expending  only  sixty  cents  per  citizen  for 
public  schools,  whereas  Boston  was  then  spending  about  one 
dollar  for  every  citizen  on  common  schools  and  "  double  that 
sum,"  the  report  ^  states  significantly,  "  is  spent  for  education 
in  their  private  establishments."  It  was  a  time  when  private 
schools  in  Roxbury,  as  well  as  in  Boston,  prospered.  It  was  a 
time  when,  the  records  show,  in  Roxbury,  as  elsewhere  in  the 
Commonwealth,  there  were  great  expectations  of  supplanting 
private  with  public  schools  through  tlie  greater  efficiency  they 
could  attain  by  means  of  "sales  of  land  in  Maine"  for  the 
School  Fund,  —  an  expectation  which  has  been  largely  realized. 
^Vith  the  increase  of  population,  in  1838  there  were  a  thousand 
pupils  enrolled  in  the  public  schools  of  Roxbury,  and  the  town 
now  appropriated  five  thousand  dollars  "  for  instruction  and  fuel 
for  schools."  2 

During  these  seventeen  years,  education,  public  as  well  as 
private,  was  promoted  in  Roxbury  to  a  high  degree  ;  and  it  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  improvement  in  methods  as  well  as  the 
increase  of  appropriations, — an  increase  more  rapid  than  that 
of  population,  —  was  due  as  much  to  the  exertions  of  Hosea 
Ballou,  2d,  as  to  any    one    member  of  the    school  committee. 

During  these  seventeen  years  his  domestic  circle  was  singu- 
larly happy.  Blessed  Vvith  one  child,  Giddings  Hyde  Ballou, 
seven  months  old  when  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  and  his  estimable 
wife   removed   from    Stafford   to    Roxbury,    their   hearts  were 

1  Roxbury  Town  Recnnls.  vol.  V,  p.  12.  2  ibid.,  vol.  V,  p.  20C. 


AT  liOXBUBT.  99 

gladdened  by  a  little  girl,  Clarissa  Hatch,  February  20,  1824 ; 
then  by  a  boy,  Charles  Hosea,  December  1,  182G  ;  then  by  a 
daughter,  Julia  Crehore,  July  10,  1828  ;  then  by  another 
daughter,  Harriet  Eliza,  December  1,  1830  ;  then  by  still 
another  daughter,  Mary  Jane,  January  17,  1833  ;  and  finally  by 
Caroline  Maria,  the  seventh  and  last  of  their  children,  June  28, 
1837  ;  but  she,  like  the  first  daughter,  died  when  a  mere  child, 
a  source  of  deep  grief  to  their  fond  parents.  Giddings  was 
quick  to  learn,  and  fitted  for  college.  With  a  passion  for  brush 
and  palette,  he  painted  industriously,  and  if  not  a  genius,  pro- 
duced tolerable  portraits  which  are  now  highly  prized.  He 
also  later  wrote  articles  on  the  history  of  art  for  the  Quarterly,^ 
illustrated  articles  for  Harper's  and  other  magazines,  and  some 
light  fiction  for  the  Lily  of  the  Vallej^-  and  the  Ladies'  Re- 
pository. He  was  long  in  government  service  at  Washington. 
An  apt  scholar,  a  lack  of  ability  to  govern  only  prevented 
his  adopting  the  profession  of  teaching  as  his  life  work.  His 
father  would  gladly  have  seen  him  permanently  engaged  in 
teaching,  or  in  his  own  profession  of  the  ministry,  had  he 
shown  a  liking  and  aptitude  for  it.  Charles  was  full  of  fun, 
and  of  good  native  ability,  but  cared  little  for  books.  Julia 
had  her  father's  quiet  wit,  —  often  very  funny  when  one  least 
expected  it.  All  were  bright,  fun-loving,  affectionate  children. 
But  the  father  found  little  leisure  to  play  and  romp  with  his 
children  ;  lie  was  absorbed  in  his  books  and  in  writing.  Says  one 
who  lived  some  years  in  the  family  at  Roxbury,  "  He  was  often 
in  a  '  brown  study,'  and  it  took  him  a  long  time  to  answer  a 
question."     Still  he  was  a  rare  raconteur. 

After  living  seventeen  years  in  Roxbury,  why,  it  has  often 
been  asked,  did  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  choose  to  terminate  the 
pastorate  ?  to  leave  a  larger  society  for  a  smaller  one  ?     Perhaps 

1  e.  g..    Historical  sketch  of  Painting,  January,  lS4.i,  pp.  23-38. 
^e.g.,    "  Gaspar  Toiissin,"  1851. 


100  ROSEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

he  was  too  profound  for  some  of  his  hearers.  For  this  reasou 
Jonathan  Edwards  was  fairly  driven  from  Northampton,  and 
was  glad  to  find  a  refuge  at  Stockbridge,  where,  at  a  salary  of 
X6  15.S,  4:d.  (about  $34)  a  year  and  "found  in  fuel,"  he  could 
think  his  thoughts  and  write  his  books.  But  such  was  not  the 
case  with  him  ;  he  left  Roxbury  voluntarily,  the  records  prove, 
but  not  for  a  larger  salary  ! 

In  a  book  written  half  a  century  ago  by  one  who,  at  the  time, 
was  no  friend  of  his,  the  writer  no  doubt  refers  to  him  in  the 
following  language  :  "  A  Universalist  preacher,  who  stands  at  the 
head  of  the  denomination,  was  settled  seventeen  years  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Boston.  He  had  under  his  charge  the  largest  and  best  Uni- 
versalist society.  He  was  very  sick,  and  supposed  to  be  in  a  con- 
sumption. He  told  me  that  the  moral  condition  of  his  society, 
and  the  moral  results  of  his  preaching  made  him  sick,  and 
almost  carried  him  to  his  grave."  ^  Of  this  and  other  state- 
ments derogatory  to  the  society,  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  wrote  ^ 
that  it  was,  "  so  far  as  respects  its  evident  gist,  untrue ;  that  is, 
if  it  was  meant  to  refer  to  me  and  the  Universalist  society  in 
Roxbury,  as  I  cannot  but  think  was  the  case.  ...  I  was  often 
out  of  health,  though  never  '  very  sick,''  —  often  seemed  wear- 
ing  down,  as  it  is  sometimes  expressed.  Possibly,  some  might 
suppose  that  I  was  approaching  'a  consumption,'  though  I 
never  knew  that  this  was  supposed.  But  it  is  impossible  that  I 
can  ever  have  told  Mr.  Smith  '  that  the  moral  condition  of  my 
society,  and  the  moral  results  of  my  preaching  made  me  sick,' 
etc.,  because  this  was  not  the  fact."  After  answering  the 
aspersions  with  great  particularity,  he  says  :  "  During  the  latter 
part  of  my  ministry  at  Roxbury  there  was  apparently  a  great 
and   growing  improvement  of  the   society.  .  .  .  But,"  he  con- 

1  M.  H.  Smith's  "  Universalistn  Examined;"  etc.,  p.  315. 

2 Letter  to  Rev.  Edwin  Leigh  (Cougregationalist),  Woonsocket,  R.  I.,  April  26,  1844,  in 
response  to  one  from  him  dated  April  23.    See  chap.  XI  on  M.  H.  Smith. 


AT  BOXBUEY.  101 

tinues,  "  I  am  reluctant  to  appear  before  the  public  in  this 
business.  I  do  not  think  I  am  called  upon  to  do  so.  Mr. 
Smith's  character  in  respect  to  credibility  is  either  already 
notorious,  or  at  least  it  may  be  easily  ascertained.  The  ortho- 
dox clergymen  of  Salem,  say  Dr.  Worcester,  who  witnessed  the 
rather  singular  manoeuvre  of  his  professed  conversion  from 
Universalism,  can  be  written  to.  So  can  the  orthodox  clergy- 
men of  Nashua,  where  Mr.  Smith  has  resided  long  enough  to 
have  some  of  his  peculiarities  known,  —  to  say  nothing  of  the 
testimony  of  Universalists."  ^ 

On  March  3,  1836,  the  society  voted  to  increase  his  salary 
from  seven  hundred  and  thirty  dollars  to  eight  hundred  dollars 
a  year,  and  the  increased  salary  was  voted  him  annually 
March  2, 1837,  and  again  March  6,  1838.  In  the  records  of  the 
society,  under  date  of  March  19,  1838,  we  find  the  following  in 
usual  form  :  "  Voted,  That  the  Standing  Committee  be  author- 
ized to  wait  on  Mr.  Ballou  and  request  him  to  supply  the  pulpit 
the  ensuing  year  for  the  sum  of  eight  hundred  dollars."  ^ 
But  that  the  society  suffered  from  the  hard  times  which, 
as  the  cycles  come  and  go,  followed  upon  the  industrial  crisis 
of  1837,  is  evident  by  a  vote  passed  in  March,  1838,  to  omit 
the  usual  appropriation  of  two  hundred  dollars  for  music, 
and  inviting  the  choir  leader  "  to  sing  in  the  seats  without 
pay  or  price,  after  stating  to  him  the  state  of  the  finances  of 
the  society."  ^  In  business,  collections  were  slow ;  it  was  to 
be  expected  that  taxes  on  pews  would  be  in  arrears  more  than 
in  prosperous  times.  At  such  times,  necessarily,  some  people 
are  discouraged. 

At   a   legal   meeting  of   the  society  in   the  vestry,  holden 


1  The  Register  for  1842  (p.  52)  says  of  M.  H.  Smith  :  "  He  had  ceased  to  be  in  our  fellow- 
ship from  a  dislike  to  our  too  rigid  discipline  !  and  is  now  engaged  as  a  Congregational 
cleriryman,  in  vilifying  us  for  our  iaxity  in  morals,  and  organization,  and  zeal." 

'  Records  of  First  Universalist  Society  of  Roxbury,  vol.  I,  p.  109.    s  ibid.,  vol.  I,  p.  107. 


102  HOSE  A    BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

Wednesday  evening,  May  2, 1838,  Mr  Chester  Guild,  moderator, 
in  the  chair,  the  following  letter  of  resignation  ^  was  read  :  — 

RoxBDRY,  April  28,  1838. 
To    THE    Committee    of     the    First    Universalist     Society    in 

ROXBURY : 

Brethren,  —  I  have  deliberated  much  and  long  with  myself  whether 
to  request  a  dismission  from  the  pastoi'al  charge  of  the  religious 
society  with  which  I  am  connected.  I  have  come,  at  length,  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  is  my  duty  to  lay  such  a  request  before  you  ;  and 
through  you,  before  the  Society,  The  reasons  which  induce  me  to 
this  step,  I  beg  leave  to  state  frankly,  that  there  may  be  no  misap- 
prehension in  any  quarter.  In  the  first  place,  the  death  of  so  many 
of  the  older  members  has  long  weighed  heavily  on  my  spirits,  and 
recent  afflictions  of  this  kind  have  increased  the  oppression  till  it 
has  become  extremely  painful.  When  I  stand  in  the  desk  to  address 
you,  I  look  around  for  the  fathers  of  the  Society,  but,  with  very  few 
exceptions,  they  are  not  there.  I  wish,  however,  to  state  distinctly, 
and  I  wish  to  have  it  on  record,  that  I  see  no  occasion  for  apprehen- 
sion with  respect  to  the  prospects  of  the  Society  in  future,  if  its 
members  be  united  and  true  to  their  profession.  This  is  not  my 
trouble.  But  I  have  felt  our  continued  and  unparalleled  bereavements 
so  painfully  as,  in  a  measure,  to  paralyze  my  efforts.  I  am  satisfied 
that  with  better  spirits  I  can  do  better,  I  can  do  more  good  else- 
where ;  and  that  a  preacher  who  has  not  these  depressing  recollec- 
tions may  do  better  for  the  Society. 

In  the  second  place,  I  have  long  been  aware  that  some  of  ray 
friends  do  not  find  my  ministrations  edifying,  and  that  their  taste  is 
for  a  different  style  of  performance.  So  far  from  blaming  them  for 
such  a  taste,  I  feel  it  a  duty  to  accommodate  them  in  this  respect, 
—  I  mean,  when  no  sacrifice  of  principle  is  involved ;  and  I  have 
confidence  in  my  other  friends  to  believe  that  they  will  heartily  join 
with  me  in  the  spirit  of  accommodation.  Let  all  unite  in  the  mutual 
endeavor  to  satisfy  themselves  and  each  other.  If  this  be  effected, 
you  will  then  have  the  entire  strength  of  the  Society  brought  into 

1  Society  Records,  vol.  I,  pp.  110,  111. 


AT  ROXBURY.  103 

(_  you  will  then  have  the  entire  strength  of  the  Societ\'  brought  into  J 
lively  action  in  every  undertaking  that  concerns  the  common  good, 
instead  of  leaving  a  part  indifferent,  and  in  many  respects  inactive. 
Brethren,  I  have  spent  the  best  part  of  my  life  with  this  Society. 
I  have  been  with  most  of  its  members  in  trouble  and  in  joy.  The 
younger  have  grown  up  under  my  eyes,  and  are  to  me  as  sons  and 
daughters.  With  most  of  the  older,  I  have  been  an  associate  of 
equal  age.  If  the  sacred  relation  I  have  so  long  sustained  to  them 
gives  me  any  right  to  an  earnest  expression  of  my  heart's  desire,  I 
would  entreat  that  the  change  of  pastor  may  not  alienate  a  single 
member  from  the  Society,  nor  abate  the  zeal  of  any  one  in  avowing 
and  supporting  the  gospel  of  "  the  grace  of  God  that  bringeth  sal- 
vation to  all  men."  I  will  not  suppose  that  any  can  be  so  blind  to 
their  reputation,  as  well  as  indifferent  to  moral  principle,  as  to 
change  their  profession  ;  and  should  temptations  of  this  kind  be 
presented  .from  abroad,  I  doubt  not  that  every  member  will  have 
respect  enough  for  himself,  and  respect  enough  for  truth,  to  treat  such 
suggestions  as  they  deserve.  In  asking  this  dismission,  I  remember 
the  many  kmdnesses  and  attentions  I  have  received  from  tliose  of  my 
charge.  I  return  them  my  unfeigned,  my  warmest  thauks,  and  im- 
plore the  blessing  of  God  to  rest  upon  them,  now  and  forevermore. 
Your  affectionate  and  devoted  pastor, 

HOSEA  BALLOU,  2d. 
Messrs.  C.  Guild,  Z.  Hersey,  S.  H.  MoOke. 

P.  S.  The  committee  would  gratify  me  by  laying  this  before  the 
Society  to-morrow  after  divine  service.  H.  B.,  2d. 

The  letter  of  resignation  caused,  deep  grief  in  the  Roxbury 
society,  and  beyond  its  limits.  He  had  "  discharged  his  duties 
with  exemplary  fidelity,"  says  one  who  had  observed  closely  from 
without.  "  His  talents  and  acquirements  were  of  the  solid 
kind ;  not  such  as  blaze  for  a  moment,  and  then  grow  dim 
and  expire.  The  beauty  of  the  pastor's  life,  his  spirit  of 
peace,  his  discreetness  and  quietness,  drew  many  to  him.     He 


104  HOSEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

was  beloved  by  such  men  as  Dr.  Porter  of  Roxbiny,  Dr.  Pierce 
of  Brookline,  and  Dr.  Harris  of  Dorchester,  three  of  the  most 
honored  of  the  Unitarian  clergy  in  the  whole  Commonwealth."  ^ 
But  his  letter  must  not  be  final !  A  special  committee  was  at 
once  appointed  by  the  society  to  urge  Mr.  Ballon  to  reconsider  his 
resignation.     They  could  not,  however,  persuade  him  to  remain. 

A  quarter  of  a  century  has  now  passed  since  the  First  Univer- 
salist  Society  of  Roxbury  celebrated  its  semicentennial.  In  show- 
ing "-wherein  Dr.  Ballou's  ministry  was  so  fruitful,"  Dr.  W.  H. 
Ryder  ^  said :  "  He  began  right ;  he  laid  a  solid  and  sure  founda- 
tion ;  he  turned  the  hearts  of  the  people  in  the  very  beginning 
of  their  parish  work  to  the  necessity  of  personal  religion."  ^ 

At  that  celebration,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  G.  Bartholomew,  Dr.  Ryder's 
successor,  said :  "  Dr.  Ballou  was  a  peculiar  man  in  this,  that 
while  he  was  one  of  our  profoundest  thinkers,  and  one  of  our 
most  finished  writers,  he  was  always  simple  as  a  child."*  And 
again  he  says :  "  The  stamp  of  that  good  man's  life  and  ministry 
is  on  the  parish  yet ;  and  every  man  who  has  succeeded  him 
here  has  felt  the  influence  of  it.  The  memory  of  him  is  like  a 
continual  benediction.  Now,  a  church  with  such  a  beginning, 
unless  the  children  prove  utterly  recreant  and  forgetful,  can- 
not but  thrive  and  prosper."  ^ 

Rev.  C.  H.  Fay,  d.d.,  has  sung  his  praise  in  verse  :  — 

His  daily  walk  within  his  fold 
Of  prayer  aud  meditation  told  ; 
And  touched  all  hearts  to  issues  higher, 
Like  David's  sweet,  immortal  lyre. 
Beyond  his  flock  the  shepherd  threw 
Influence  greater  than  he  kuew  ; 
Whose  still  pulsations  over-passed 

1  Rev.  Thomas  Whittemore,  in  the  Trumpet,  June  18, 1859. 
-  Dr.  Ryder  was  pastor  of  the  society,  1S49  to  1859. 

2  "  Semicentennial  Memorial "  (Roxbury,  1871),  p.  74.    *  Ibid.,  p.  79.    ^  Ibid.,  p.  80. 


AT  ROXBUBY.  105 

Sectarian  walls,  so  grim  and  fast, 
And  prejudice  gave  way  at  last. 

To  human  welfare  ever  true, 

He  bridged  the  gulf  'tween  old  and  new, 

By  sympathy  with  all  that's  good, 

And  love  baptized  in  Jesus'  blood  ; 

And  thus  united  youth  and  age 

In  life's  divinest  heritage. ^ 

As  he  was  leaving  Roxbury,  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  was  a  young- 
old  man.  The  mere  physical  strength  to  do  all  he  had  done  — 
say  nothing  of  the  strain  on  his  native  intellectual  force,  even 
with  the  most  methodical  habits  —  is  not  easily  estimated.  At 
forty-one,  bald  and  gray,  "  the  general  judgment  of  those  who 
met  him  "  a  year  before,  says  E.  G.  Brooks,  d.d.  (who  "  first 
really  made  his  acquaintance  in  May,  1837  "),  "  was  that  he  was 
at  least  fully  sixty,  and  I  well  remember  with  what  amazement 
a  company  of  friends  at  my  father's  house  received  his  statement 
of  his  actual  age."  ^  In  parting  I  fancy  it  was  no  mere  acci- 
dent that  he  translated  from  the  German  and  published 

GOETHE'S    DEDICATION  TO   HIS   FAUST.3 

Translated  from  the  Gejuiun. 

[The  following  Dedication,  as  Goethe  calls  it,  seems  to  have  been  written  alter 
the  first  edition  of  his  "  Faust,"  and  in  the  advanced  age  of  the  poet.  The  first  two 
stanzas  allude  to  those  shadowy  representations  of  the  various  scenes  in  man's  ex- 
perience, which  he  had  embodied  in  his  poem.  The  translation  may  claim  to  be  tol- 
erably literal,  at  least  for  verse;  but  every  one  who  has  read  the  original  will  feel 
how  far  short  of  that  it  falls  in  melody  and  touching  simplicity  of  expression.] 

Ye  gather  near,  dim-hoveiiug  forms,  again  ! 

Such  as,  of  old,  ye  crossed  my  troubled  mind. 
And  seek  I  well  t'  arrest  your  phantom-train? 

Feels  my  heart  still  to  that  vain  task  inclined  ? 

^ See  pp.  33-49,  "  Roxbury  Semicenteuuial  Memorial." 
•2 See  Quarterly,  October,  1878,  p.  393. 
s  Expositor,  March,  1838,  p.  148. 


106  HO  SEA   BALLOU,    2d,  D.D. 

Ye  press  around  !  —  and  be  ye  welcome,  then, 
As  forth  ye  come  from  out  the  mists  behind  ; 
My  aged  bosom  feels  a  youthful  beating, 
Fanned  by  the  magic  airs  around  you  flitting. 

Ye  bring  the  images  of  joyful  days, 

And  many  a  once-loved  shadow  meets  my  view ; 

Like  notes  of  old  and  half -forgotten  lays. 

Come  my  first  Loves  and  early  Friendships  true  ; 

My  Griefs  return  ;  the  ever  anxious  maze 
Of  life's  sad  labyrinth,  I  trace  anew  ; 

Recall  the  joys  that  shone,  at  moments,  o'er  me 

By  hope  deceived,  —  but  vanished  all  before  me. 

They  hear  not — ne'er  will  hear  —  the  following  song, 

The  souls  to  whom  I  first  attuned  the  lay  ; 
Dispersed  forever  is  that  friendly  throng. 

And  their  first  echoes  all  have  died  away. 
My  grief  resounds  an  unknown  crowd  among ; 

Even  their  applaudings  on  my  spirit  weigh ; 
For  all,  whose  heartfelt  praise  my  numbers  flattered, 
Are  in  their  graves,  or  through  the  wide  world  scattered. 

And  long-unwonted  yearnings  seize  my  breast 
For  that  still,  solemn  spirit-realm  unknown. 

My  trembling  notes,  now  hovering  into  rest, 
Waver,  like  the  ^olian  harp's  wild  tone. 

A  shuddering  takes  me  ;  tears  flow  unrepressed  ; 
This  vigorous  heart  —  it  feels  its  firmness  gone; 

The  present  seems  but  as  a  distant  vision. 

And  what  has  vanished  is  my  sole  fruition. 

H.  B.,  2d. 

On  the  third  Sunday  in  March,  1838,  it  appears,  he  preached 
for  the  first  time  in  Medford,  a  town  five  miles  from  Boston,  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  city  from  Roxbury,  and  on  the  ban^s 
of  the  Mystic  River  at  tide  water ;  it  was  then  at  the  height  of 


FIRST  UNIVERSALIST  CHUECII   OF  MEDFORD,   1854. 


AT  MED  FORD.  107 

its  prosperity  as  a  shipbuilding  town.  The  society  was  organ- 
ized March  22,  1831,  and  was  still  small  and  in  debt.  James 
O.  Curtis,  O.  M.  Gale,  and  Lewis  Richardson  were  authorized 
"  to  supply  the  Desk  as  far  as  they  have  funds," —  so  the  records 
read.  To  settle  here  meant  self-sacrifice.  Here  Hosea  Ballou, 
2d,  came,  on  the  third  Sunday  in  May,  1838,  nevertheless, 
taking  John  ix.  4,  as  his  text,^  and  began  his  third  and  last 
pastoral  engagement.  He  found  a  home  on  Washington  Street, 
six  or  seven  minutes'  walk  from  the  church.  He  was  in  his 
forty-second  year,  and  in  the  zenith  of  manhood's  strength. 
Looking  at  his  removal  to  Medford  in  a  large  way,  it  meant 
little  more  to  him  than  the  removal  of  his  household  gods,  a 
few  years  before,  from  the  Dearborn  Street  cottage  to  the 
Zeigler  Street  house  in  Roxbury.  He  walked  regularly  to  his 
familiar  haunts  in  Boston  and  met  the  old  faces  as  heretofore, 
—  merely  by  a  different  road.  His  intellectual  interests  were 
still  centred  in  Boston,  but  the  horizon  of  his  intellectual  vision 
was  now  world-wide,  and  now  and  ever  after  it  was  his  greatest 
ambition,  as  indeed  for  a  decade  or  more  it  had  been,  to  pro- 
mote the  highest  welfare  of  the  Universalist  denomination,  and 
to  spread  the  truths  it  represented.  "  As  St.  Jerome,  from  his 
monk's  cell  in  Bethlehem,  wielded  a  potent  influence  over  all 
Christendom,"  says  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  J.  Sawyer,  "  so  Dr.  Ballou 
from  his  quiet  study  in  Roxbury  and  Medford  touched  the  heart 
of  our  whole  church  he  loved  so  well,  and  did  so  much  to 
benefit  and  bless."  ^  The  happiness  of  his  life  at  Medford  rose 
above  and  was  scarcely  affected  by  his  mere  physical  environ- 
ment. In  the  church,  in  the  public  schools,  in  society,  —  in 
his  labors  for  education  and  for  temperance,^  —  he  affected  it 
profoundly,  but  the  reaction  was  hardly  perceptible.     The  im- 

1  See  hi8  MS.  Record  of  Sermons,  1816-1845,  in  Tufts  College  Library. 

2 Christian  Leader,  April  n,  1893. 

3  See  MS.  Lecture  on  Temperance  in  Tufts  College  Library. 


108  HOSE  A  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

pressionable  period  of  youth  and  early  manhood  had  passed. 
We  need  not,  therefore,  dwell  on  his  mere  outward  life  at 
Medford;  his  correspondence  in  this  period,  his  labored  writ- 
ings, and  his  public  duties,  all  faithfully  performed,  are  matters 
of  public  record,  and  in  them  we  find  the  fullest,  truest  expres- 
sion of  his  maturer  life. 

We  would  not,  however,  be  misunderstood.  He  was  a  devoted 
pastor ;  numbers  increased ;  the  church  —  still  standing  opposite 
the  new  Medford  High  School  —  was  enlarged  to  its  present 
size.  Soon  after  his  removal  to  Medford,  many  tender  ties  bound 
him  to  his  adopted  home.  Cotting,  Curtis,  and  Lawrence  were 
household  names.  Old  Roxbury  friends,  too,  often  came  to  see 
him,  and  he  held  them  all  in  affectionate  remembrance ;  and  his 
deep  solicitude  in  the  eight  months  which  elapsed  before  his 
successor  at  Roxbury,  Rev.  Asher  Moore,  was  chosen,  is  well 
known.  He  took  part  in  those  installation  services,  and  Thomas 
Whittemore  records:  "The  members  of  the  society  were 
deeply  moved  "  by  his  affectionate  sentiments;^  and  he  occa- 
sionally preached  to  his  former  flock  in  after  years.  When, 
August  8,  1853,  he  concluded  it  was  his  duty  to  accept  the 
presidency  of  Tufts  College,  and  he  resigned  the  pastorate,  he 
said :  "  It  is  a  trial  which  I  have  dreaded,  and  to  which  I  hardly 
feel  reconciled,  even  now." 

1  See  Trumpet,  June  18, 1859. 


CHAPTER   V. 

COUNSELS   UNION  AND  PEACE. 

It  was  in  the  r81e  of  peacemaker  that  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  first 
won  his  spurs  as  a  leader  in  the  Universalist  denomination.  In 
that  capacity  the  means  he  chiefly  used  was  his  pen,  and  in  the 
editorial  chair. 

The  story  has  often  been  told  of  the  small  beginning  of  the 
Universalist  Magazine,  July  3,  1819,  by  Henry  Bowen  as 
printer  and  publisher,  and  Hosea  Ballou,  senior,  as  editor.  The 
first  religious  newspaper  in  America  had  been  published  at 
Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  only  a  few  years  before,^  and  this  was  the 
first  distinctively  Universalist  newspaper.  I  have  examined 
the  early  files  of  the  Universalist  Magazine  ^  to  ascertain  when 
Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  first  became  one  of  its  contributors.  Like 
Junius,  however,  nearly  all  of  its  contributors  wrote  over  a  nom 
de  plume,  and,  even  with  the  aid  of  a  subsequent  editor's  key,^ 
often  their  identity  is  now  unknown.  We  may  say,  on  the 
authority  of  Thomas  Whittemore,*  that  he  began  to  write  for 
that  paper  so  early  as  1819,  but  the  first  contribution  we  can 
certainly  identify  is  a  letter  dated  Stafford,  June  12,  1820,  an- 
nouncing that  a  clergyman.  Rev.  Hollis  Samson  of  Wilmington, 
Vt.,  had  "  come  forth  in  public  vindication  of  the  doctrine  of 
Universal  Salvation." 

1  The  Herald  of  Gospel  Liberty,  under  date  of  September  1, 1808. 

=  Thanks  to  Rev.  Dr.  Lucius  li.  Paige  of  Cambridge,  who  owns  one  of  the  two  complete 
sets  of  the  paper  now  known  to  be  in  existence. 

3  See  "  Life  of  Rev.  Hosea  Ballou,"  by  Thomas  Whittemore,  vol.  II,  footnote,  p.  165;  for 
H.  B.,  2d,  we  find  "  B  *  *  *  :^  ^,"  presumably  because  while  his  name  began  with  B.  he 
was  more  Starr  than  Ballou!  He  sometimes  wrote  over  the  nom  de  plume  of  "  Marcus," 
the  venerable  Dr.  L.  R.  Paige  informs  me. 

*See  the  Trumpet  of  June  18, 1859,  p.  10. 

109 


110  HOSEA   BALLOU,   2d,    D.D. 

After  his  settlement  in  Roxbury  his  contributions  —  no  doubt 
by  prearrangement  —  became  frequent.  In  the  Magazine  of 
August  22, 1822,  he  published  a  letter  to  him  from  Adin  Ballou, 
a  distant  cousin,  then  resident  in  Cumberland,  R.  I.,  saying  that. 

"after  his  conversation  with  him  at  Mr.  L B 's,"  he 

accepted  Universalism  ;  and  Adin  Ballou  became  one  of  the  most 
influential  of  his  early  converts. 

In  the  Universalist  Magazine  at  about  this  time  the  leading 
article  is  a  "  compendium  of  a  sermon  "  on  Regeneration,  from 
John  iii.  3  as  a  text,  namely :  "  Except  a  man  be  born  again, 
[or  from  above]  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God."  After 
showing  by  specimens  of  three  ancient  conversions  what  con- 
version is  not,  "  Marcus  "  —  for  so  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  was  then 
in  the  habit  of  signing  his  contributions  —  proceeded  to  show 
what  conversion  is  :  • — 

"What  was  the  Ethiopian's  conversion?  Answer:  He  beUeved 
in  Jesus  Christ  with  all  his  heart.  What  was  the  jailer's  ?  He  be- 
lieved in  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  received  his  words.  In  what  did  the 
conversion  of  the  three  thousand  consist?  They  gladly  received  the 
gospel,  and  continued  steadfastly  in  the  apostle's  doctrine  and  fellow- 
ship. Saul  was  converted  from  a  violent  persecutor,  to  a  sincere 
advocate  of  Christ's  religion.  Their  conversions  were  all  effected  by 
one  simple  and  rational  process,  namely  :  They  were  first  convinced 
that  Jesus  Christ  was  the  Son  of  God,  and  that  he  taught  by  divine 
authority  ;  and  then  they  received  his  doctrine  with  honest  hearts, 
rejoicing  in  it,  inhaling  its  spirit,  and  practising  its  injunctions.  .  .  . 
In  one  word,  the  whole  spirit  of  the  gospel  is  universal  benevolence  ; 
and  whoever,  through  believing  in  Christ,  has  obtained  this  spirit  has, 
according  to  the  language  of  Scripture,  been  born  again." 

In  all  his  writings,  he  urged  the  essentials  of  Universalism, 
on  which  all  were  agreed. 

Another  frequent  contributor  in  1821-2,  three  years  his 
junior,    was    Thomas  Whittemore,  formerly  a  bootmaker's  ap- 


REV.  HOSEA  BALLOU,  SENIOR. 
AGE  ABOUT  n5. 


COUNSELS    UNIOX  AND  PEACE.  HI 

prentice,  and  the  presiding  genius  at  the  bass  viol  on  Sundays 
in  the  choir  of  the  Second  Universalist  Church  on  School 
Street,  Boston.  Entering  Father  Ballou's  study,  January  1, 
1821,  on  reaching  his  majority,  his  first  sermon  he  had  already 
written  while  at  his  shoemaker's  bench,  and  had  preached  it  to 
the  new  Universalist  Society  in  Roxbury  on  December  10,  1820. 
Then  "  a  young,  awkward,  and  by  no  means  prepossessing 
young  man,"  Thomas  Whittemore  did  not  afterward  feel  proud 
of  his  first  effort,  and  good  "  Mother  Parker,"  one  of  his  audi- 
tors, years  afterwards  said  that  "  the  young  man's  sermon  was 
about  the  size  of  Streeter's  H3'mn  Book,  and  just  about  as 
thick.  He  blundered  badly  in  his  reading,"  said  she,  '-and  we 
were  all  glad  when  he  had  finished."  ^  But  he  became  a  force- 
ful speaker,  and  developed  a  remarkable  ability,  not  more  as 
writer  than  as  financier ;  and  Johnson  had  not  a  more  faithful 
biographer  in  Boswell  than,  after  liis  decease  in  1852,  Father 
Ballou  had  in  him.  Settled  first  for  a  year  over  a  new  society 
at  Milford,  Mass.,  in  April,  1822,  he  became  the  first  pastor  of 
the  First  Universalist  Society  in  Cambridge,  which  had  been 
organized  through  the  missionary  work  of  Hosea  Ballou,  senior. 

On  May  4,  1822,  Henry  Bowen  made  the  following  announce- 
ment :  "  The  publisher  has  the  satisfaction  of  announcing  to 
the  friends  of  the  Magazine,  and  to  the  public,  that  he  has 
engaged  the  Rev.  Hosea  Ballou,  of  Boston,  the  Rev.  Hosea 
Ballou,  2d,  of  Roxbury,  and  the  Rev.  Thomas  Whittemore,  of 
Cambridgeport,  to  edit  this  paper  in  future.  It  is  presumed 
that  these  gentlemen  are  too  well  known  to  render  any  remarks 
respecting  their  abilities  necessary." 

Owing  to  the  ill  health  of  its  first  editor,  he  resigned  on  com- 
pleting the  second  volume,  and  for  more  than  ten  months  the 
paper  had  been  in  charge  of  a  Mr.  Foster  as  editor,  "  who  was 
totally  unfit  in  every  respect  for  the  task  "  ;  ^  and  in  the  mean 

1  Rev.  W.  H.  Ryder  in  "  Semicentennial  Memorial  of  Roxbury  Chui-ch,"  p.  69. 

2  See  Thomas  Whittemore  in  Trumpet,  February  26,  1853. 


112  HOSEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

time  discussions  over  no-future  or  limited-future  punishment 
after  death  "  sprang  up  as  thickly  as  weeds  in  a  garden,  and 
threatened  to  bear  an  abundant  harvest  of  discontent."  ^  The 
Magazine  had  been  the  medium  of  the  publication  of  these  dis- 
cussions, and  the  new  editors  set  themselves  the  task  of  putting 
"  an  end  to  the  petty  war,  and  it  was  done."  ^  In  the  Magazine 
of  May  11,  1822,  Hose  a  Ballon,  2d,  and  Thomas  Whittemore 
wrote  to  "  Restorationist,"  —  who  afterward  proved  to  be  one 
Jacob  Wood,  —  making  the  usual  requirement  that  the  writer 
should  sign  his  own  name  as  evidence  of  good  faith  before  his 
articles  would  be  admitted  to  its  columns.  The  senior  editor, 
as  a  party  to  the  controversy,  did  not  sign  this  article.  Two 
weeks  later,  they  again  announced  that  that  was  the  "  last  notice  * 
that  will  be  taken  of  the  Proposals  "  without  a  real  signature. 
It  was  held  that  the  subject  of  discussion  was  a  non-essential  in 
the  faith  of  the  Universalist  denomination,  on  which  the  editors 
themselves  held  different  views,  still  with  the  warmest  devotion 
to  the  unity  and  welfare  of  the  denomination,  and  they  urged 
that  it  was  a  proper  subject  for  diverse  individual  opinions  ;  let 
each  individual  speak  for  himself.  But  the  controversy  ^  had 
gone  so  far  that  a  schism  was  threatened.  In  December,  1822, 
an  "  Appeal  to  the  Public,"  signed  "  Restorationist,"  and  a 
"  Declaration,"  signed  by  Jacob  Wood,  were  published  in  Ver- 
mont, which  by  the  author's  request  and  by  concurrence  of 
the  three  editors  were  republished  in  the  Universalist  Magazine 
on  January  25,  1823.*  Briefly,  they  opposed  "  the  doctrine  of 
universal  salvation  at  the  commencement  of  a  future  state," 
but  held  to  "  the  final  restoration  of  all  men  by  Jesus  Christ, 
through  faith  and  repentance."  The  article  was  followed  by 
the  significant  paragraph :  "  Reply  to  the  above  in  our  next." 

1  Thomas  Whittemore's  •'  Life  of  Hosea  Ballou,"  vol. II,  pp.  193, 194.  2  ibid.,  vol.  II,  p.  195. 
3  For  a  history  of  this  controversy,  see  Eddy's  "  Universalistn  in  America,"  vol.11,  pp. 
261-342. 

*See  Universalist  Magazine,  vol.  IV,  p.  122. 


COUNSELS   UNION  AND  PEACE.  113 

In  the  same  paper,  however,  Father  Ballou  wrote  to  his  Chris- 
tian brethren  that  it  was  a  most  painful  task  to  publish  what 
he  knew  must  produce  "  surprise  and  grief  of  no  ordinary- 
character,"  and  that  many  a  night  his  pillow  had  received  "  the 
teSrs  of  grief,  occasioned  by  the  increasing  symptoms  which 
portended  the  unhappy  schism  which  is  now  made  manifest  to 
the  public."  But  to  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,i  — yo^iig  ra&n  of  twenty- 
six  years  that  he  was,  —  was  assigned  the  delicate  and  respon- 
sible task  of  making  the  formal  reply,  which  occupied  seven  and 
a  half  columns  of  the  Universalist  Magazine  of  February  1, 
1823. 

"  In  last  week's  Magazine,  we  repul)lished  from  the  '  Christian 
Repository,'  "  said  he,  "  An  Ai)peal  to  the  Public,'  signed  '  Restor- 
ationist ' ;  and  a  Declaration  (as  we  shall  call  it)  signed  '  Jacob 
Wood,'  in  behalf  of  others. 

"  It  is  now  ahout  seven  weeks  since  those  pieces  were  first  pub- 
lished. In  the  mean  time,  we  have  labored  with  our  brethren  who 
were  the  authors,  for  the  purpose  of  persuading  them  to  recall  their 
publication  ;  but  to  no  avail.  We  now  submit  to  the  alternative  of 
publicly  disproving  their  representation  and  exposing  the  real  char- 
acter of  their  procedure,  in  preference  to  permitting  it  to  stand  un- 
contradicted before  the  world,  alienating  the  hearts  of  brethren,  and 
exciting  suspicion  and  discord. 

"  It  may  be  proper  to  lay  open  the  mystery  which  at  first  hung 
over  the  origin  of  those  two  pieces. 

"  Altho'  one  of  them  represented  us  to  the  public  as  fomenters  of 
discord  among  the  brethren,  we  were  left  without  any  certain  knowl- 
edge who  the  authors  were,  till  about  three  weeks  after  the  publica- 
tion. Finding  that  we  waited  in  vain  for  the  authors  to  avow  them- 
selves to  us,  we  sent  to  Brother  Dean,  whom  we  suspected  to  be  one 
of  them,  requesting  him  to  inform  us  whether  he  was  one,  and  to 
state  who  the  others  were,  if  he  knew.  He  refused  to  give  us  any 
information  in  reply,  unless  we  would  first  agree  to  terms  of  secrecy. 

1  So  Whittemore  states  iu  "  Life  of  Uosca  Ballou,"  vol.  II,  p.  222. 


114  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2il,  D.D. 

We  then  sent  the  same  request  to  Brother  Edward  Turner,  of  Charles- 
town  ;  who  frankly  informed  us  iu  answer,  that  he  and  Brothers 
Jacob  Wood,  of  Shrewsbur3%  Paul  Dean,  of  Boston,"  and  three 
others,  —  who,  however,  within  fifteen  da3's  publicly  disclaimed  all 
connection  with  the  Appeal,  —  were  the  authors. 

After  showing  "  a  most  condemning  absurdity  on  the  very 
face  of  those  two  pieces,  when  they  are  compared,"  and  that 
their  authors'  desire  "  to  preserve  peace  and  tranquillity  "  was 
mere  pretence,  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  continues  in  the  performance 
of  "the  most  painful  duty  that  has  ever  devolved  on  us  as 
editors  or  as  ministers "  (for  all  three  editors  signed  his 
"Reply")  in  the  following  examination  of  the  Appeal,  which, 
while  pacific,  is  worthy  of  his  Bunker  Hill  blood:  — 

' '  How  desirous  they  have  been  '  to  preserve  peace  and  tranquillity  ' 
is  evinced  by  the  manner  in  which  they  published  their  Appeal.  Let 
it  be  here  observed,  however,  that  in  tlie  Appeal  they  endeavor  to 
make  the  public  believe  that  those  brethren  who  deny  the  doctrine  of 
future  punishment,  together  with  the  editors  of  the  Magazine,  have 
conducted  so  inconsistently  with  the  rules  of  good  fellowship  as  to 
provoke  towards  a  separation.  Now,  this  Appeal  the  authors  pub- 
lished to  the  world,  with  all  its  items  of  complaint  against  their  own 
brethren,  without  having  exchanged  one  word  with  them  on  the  sub- 
ject. They  had  not  informed  us  that  they  were  even  dissatisfied  with 
that  part  of  our  management  of  the  Magazine  of  which  they  com- 
plain in  the  Appeal,  although  some  of  them  had  been  frequently  in 
company  with  us,  and  had  conversed  with  us  particularly  about  the 
Magazine.  They  had  preserved  the  same  silence  too,  at  least,  as  far 
as  we  can  learn,  toward  those  brethren  (or  that  party, ^  as  they  call 
them  in  their  'most  conciliating  spirit')  who  deny  the  doctrine  of 
future  punishment.  Of  them  they  complain  that  they  at  length 
'  seemed  to  attach  more  importance  to  "  the  idea  "  that  all  misery  is 
confined  to  this  life.'     The  authors  had  not  before  told  them  that  they 

I "  We  believe  the  authors  are  the  first,  and  we  hope  the  last,  to  call  those  brethren  who 
do  believe  in  future  punishment,  and  those  who  do  not,  PARTIES.  It  is  a  word  of  bad 
Influence." 


COUNSELS   UNION  AND  PEACE.  115 

felt  dissatisfied  with  this  circumstance  ;  they  had  not  even  told  them 
that  such  a  circumstance  existed.  They  complain  also,  that  these 
brethren  were  wont  to  dwell  on  that  idea  '  in  their  public  discourses, 
and  this,  too,  on  conventional  occasions,  and  when  they  exchanged 
desks  with  their  brethren  who  differed  from  them  on  this  subject.' 
They  had  not  before  mentioned  a  word  of  all  this  to  those  brethren, 
so  far  as  we  can  learn  ;  to  many  of  them  we  know  they  had  not. 

"  In  one  word,  they  have  published  those  complaints  without  pre- 
viously endeavoring  to  dissuade  their  brethren  from  the  commission 
of  the  pretended  abuse.  .  .  .  When  the  Appeal  was  published,  the 
authors  still  remained  silent.  We  were  occasionally  in  company  with 
some  of  them,  and  once  with  all  of  them,  except  Mr.  Hudson  ;  but  they 
said  nothing  about  their  publication, i  nor  gave  us  an  intimation  that 
they  were  the  authors.  And  when  we  at  length  sent  to  Mr.  Dean 
requesting  him  to  inform  us  whether  he  was  one,  and,  if  so,  who  the 
others  were,  he  refused  to  answer  unless  we  would  first  agree  to  terms 
of  secrecy.  When  we  wrote  to  Mr.  Streeter  of  Salem,  expostulating 
with  him  for  his  breach  of  the  rules  of  fellowship  in  publishing  com- 
plaints against  the  brethren  without  a  previous  labor  with  them,  he 
attempted  to  conceal  the  fact  that  he  was  one  of  the  authors,  and 
affected  much  surprise  that  we  addressed  him  as  such. 

"  The  foregoing  is  chiefly  an  account  of  the  circumstances  con- 
nected with  the  publication  of  the  Appeal.  We  now  come  to  an 
examination  of  the  Appeal  itself. 

"  We  shall  first  prove  that  the  following  representation,  which  is 
kept  up  through  the  whole  of  the  Appeal,  viz.  :  that  the  authors  have 
sought  '  to  preserve  the  peace  and  union  of  the  order,'  is  entirely 
false. 

"In  the  year  1816,  Mr.  Jacob  Wood  applied  to  the  General  Con- 
vention of  Universalists  for  a  letter  of  fellowship,  and  received  one. 
In  this  very  year  (more  than  six  years  ago)  he  persuaded  one  of  the 

1 "  One  of  the  Editors,  on  one  of  these  occasions,  attempted  to  expostulate  with  Mr. 
Wood  for  publishing  the  Appeal  without  a  previous  labor  with  the  brethren  complained 
of;  Mr.  W.  neither  said,  nor  denied,  that  he  was  one  of  the  authors;  but  would  not  hear  the 
expostulation,  and  said  he  would  do  nothing  on  the  subject  except  by  writings  or 
publications." 


116  HO  SEA   B  ALLOC/,  2d,  D.D. 

Universalist  ministers  to  believe  that  it  was  necessary  ttiat  the  Con- 
vention should  take  a  decided  stand  in  favor  of  the  doctrine  of  future 
punishment ;  and  at  the  same  time  privately  instilled  prejudices  into 
his  mind  against  Mr.  Ballou,  then  of  Salem,  (now  of  Boston,)  who 
was  supposed  to  doubt  that  doctrine.  At  this  period,  Mr.  Wood  was 
preaching  in  Haverhill,  Mass.,  where  he  talked  so  much  against  Mr. 
Ballou  that  the  society  became  dissatisfied  with  him  as  their  preacher. 
All  this  while  he  pretended  much  friendship  in  Mr.  Ballou's  presence, 
as  he  likewise  generally  has  since.  Soon  after  this  he  represented  to 
Mr.  Ballou  that  Mr.  Turner  was  desirous  of  a  correspondence  with 
him  on  the  subject  of  future  punishment,  and  persuaded  Mr.  Ballou 
to  write  to  Mr.  Turner  and  invite  such  a  correspondence.  Let  it  be 
noticed  that  until  this  correspondence,  which  was  carried  on  in  the 
'Gospel  Visitant,'  there  had  been  nothing  special  said  or  written 
against  the  doctrine  of  future  punishment.  After  engaging  Mr. 
Ballou  and  Mr.  Turner  in  the  controversy,  Mr.  Wood  obtained  letters 
from  almost  all  the  Universalist  ministers  in  New  England,  stating 
their  belief  in  future  punishment ;  and  then  publiphed  extracts  from 
those  letters,  without  the  knowledge  of  the  writers,  in  an  Appendix  to 
a  '  Brief  Essay  on  Future  Retribution.'  He  said  he  did  this  for  the 
purpose  of  making  known  that  the  Universalists  were  believers  in 
future  punishment.  The  Essay,  with  the  letters,  was  published  under 
the  approbation  of  Messrs.  Turner  and  Dean,  who  had  written  their 
own  letters  for  publication  in  it.  .  .  .  This  pamphlet  came  out  about 
the  first  of  September,  1817,  and  within  a  week  or  fortnight  after- 
wards, the  General  Convention  met  at  Charlton,  where  Mr.  Wood 
was  then  preaching.  At  this  Convention,  Mr.  Wood  privately 
endeavored  to  persuade  a  number  of  ministers  (among  whom  was  one 
of  the  editors)  to  join  him  in  a  separate  Association  under  the  title 
of  '  Restorationists,'  but  did  not  succeed.  It  would  seem  from 
several  circumstances,  that  Messrs.  Turner  and  Dean  then  knew  and 
approved  of  this  attempt. 

"  Mr.  Wood  had  previously  agreed,  with  one  of  the  ministers,  to 
bring  the  subject  of  future  punishment  before  this  Convention  at 
Charlton  ;  and,   if  there  proved  to  be  a  majority  of  members  who 


COUNSELS    UNION  AND  PEACE.  117 

would  not  assent  to  that  doctrine,  to  declare  their  separation  from 
them,  and  declare  it  openly.  However,  when  the  period  agreed  on 
had  arrived,  Mr.  Wood  refused  to  act  according  to  agreement ;  but 
took  the  clandestine  manner  we  have  described.  We  wish  the  reader 
to  bear  in  mind  that  at  this  period  there  had  existed  no  excitement 
against  the  doctrine  of  future  punishment ;  there  had  been  so  little 
said  or  written  against  it,  tliat  very  few  of  the  Universalist  ministers 
knew  each  other's  opinion  on  the  subject. 

"  At  the  Convention,  in  Charlton,  Mr.  Wood  pursued  his  former 
practice  of  privately  instilling  prejudices,  some  of  them  of  the  most 
cruel  kind,  against  Mr.  Ballon  ;  and  boasted  that  '  he  had  got  to  come 
down.'  He  had  likewise  pursued  the  same  practice  in  his  conversa- 
tion with  the  members  of  his  society  in  Charlton,  till  it  had  become 
a  subject  of  very  general  complaint  among  them. 

"  Ever  since  that  Convention,  he  has,  both  in  conversation  with  the 
ministers  and  in  letters  to  them,  confidently  declared  that  there  would 
be  a  separation  of  the  Convention.  Of  himself  and  his  associates, 
he  has  said,  that  they  do  not  think  that  a  union  ought  to  be  main- 
tained, or  can  be  justified,  between  two  so  opposite  theories  as  are 
professed  by  the  members  of  the  Convention.  (Mark  this,  reader, 
for  they,  in  the  Appeal,  pretend  to  have  labored  for  union.)  He 
has  almost  uniformly  maintained  that  the  doctrine  of  no  future  pun- 
ishment tends  to  immorality  ;  and  that  the  professed  believers  of  it 
are,  in  general,  infidels.  The  following  is  only  a  specimen  of  his 
representations :  Returning  from  Boston,  he  stopped  at  Mr.  Na- 
thaniel Whittemore's  in  Lancaster.  Mr.  Whittemore  asked  him, 
'  What  news?'  to  which  he  replied,  '  Bad  news,  bad  news,  Bro.  Whitte- 
more. I  am  really  sorry  !  '  '  What  is  it?'  rejoined  Mr.  Whittemore. 
Mr.  Wood  answered,  'Nine  tenths  of  Mr.  Ballou's  society  are  infidels, 
—  I  am  really  sorry.'  As  to  his  common  practice  of  talking  against 
Mr.  Ballou,  it  may  be  well  understood  by  considering  the  fact  that  he 
has  repeatedly  declared  to  the  ministers  that  it  is  his  design  and 
determination  to  lessen  Mr.  Ballou  in  the  public  esteem  ;  and  the 
societies  where  he  has  preached  can  bear  him  testimony  that  he  has 
shewed  himself  in  earnest  in  the  prosecution  of  that  design. 


118  HOSEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

"  When  we  consider  all  these  facts,  — the  part  that  Mr.  Wood  has 
acted  with  the  knowledge,  and,  often,'  cooperation  of  Messrs.  Turner 
and  Dean, — and  the  course  that  Messrs.  Turner  and  Dean  them- 
selves have  pursued,  though  not  so  openly,  —  we  stand  in  utter 
astonishment  at  the  falsehood  of  the  Appeal.  Have  they  endeavored 
to  preserve  union  ?  Are  we  the  authors  of  the  threatening  separation  ? 
Why,  Mr.  Wood  himself  has  voluntarily  and  deliberately  stated  that 
he  knew  ENVY  to  be  the  cause  of  the  threatened  schism  !  Bro.  B. 
Whittemore  had  asked  him  the  cause  of  Messrs.  Turner  and  Dean's 
opposition  to  Mr.  Ballon.  'Bro.  Whittemore,' said  Mr.  Wood  in 
answer,  '  I  know  human  nature  so  well  as  to  know  that  envy  is  the 
cause  of  the  impending  schism.'  He  likewise  told  one  of  the  editors 
that  he  had  no  doubt  that  the  opposition  of  Messrs.  Turner  and  Dean 
was  caused  by  envy  towards  Mr.  Ballou. 

"Mr.  Dean  has  reported,  secretly,  that  Mr.  Ballou  retained  noth- 
ing of  Christianity  but  the  name  ;  and  has  talked  against  him  in  such 
a  manner,  to  some  of  the  brethren,  that  they  have  told  Mr.  Ballou 
they  never  should  repeat  the  conversation,  nor  tell  him  what  it  was, 
unless  they  saw  him  in  real  danger  from  it.  About  two  years  ago, 
Mr.  Turner  intimated  an  unwillingness  to  proceed  on  in  harmony ; 
for,  said  he,  '  then  there  would  be  nobody  but  Ballou.' 

"  But  we  desist  from  the  enumeration  of  the  facts  in  our  possession. 

' '  We  shall  now  attend  to  the  particular  statements  which  they  have 
made  in  the  Appeal.   .   .   . 

"The  first  of  those  statements,  which  we  shall  attend  to,  is  that 
those  brethren  who  believe  that  all  misery  is  confined  to  this  life, 
were  wont  to  dwell  on  that  sentiment  in  their  discourses  on  conven- 
tional occasions. 

"  Now,  the  fact  is,  that  not  even  one  sermon  has  been  preached  at 
our  General  Convention  against  the  idea  of.  future  punishment.  Mr. 
Turner  himself  preached  a  sermon  at  the  Convention  in  Lebanon, 
1819,  in  support  of  that  doctrine  ;  and  he  is  the  only  one  who  has 
preached  directly  on  that  subject  on  those  occasions.  We  beg  not 
to  be  misunderstood  ;  we  do  not  deny  that  there  have  been  sermons 
preached  before  the  General  Conventions,  both  by  those  who  believe, 


COUNSELS    UNION  AND  PEACE.  119 

and  those  ivho  deny  the  doctrine  of  future  punishment .,  in  which  par- 
ticular texts  were  applied  to  this  life,  that  some  Uuiversalists  would 
refer  to  a  state  of  punishment  after  death.  Let  it  be  understood,  too, 
that  we  do  not  mention  the  fact  that  Mr.  Turner  preached  a  sermon 
at  the  General  Convention  in  favor  of  future  punishment,  as  an 
impropriety  ;  the  impropriety  lies  in  his  making  the  above  statement 
in  the  Appeal. 

"Their  next  statement  is,  that  those  brethren  who  believe  that  all 
misery  is  confined  to  this  life  were  wont  to  dwell  on  that  sentiment 
when  they  exchanged  desks  with  their  brethren  who  differ  from  them 
on  that  subject. 

"  We  have  not  authority  to  deny  that  there  have  been  instances  in 
which  brethren  have  dwelt  on  the  idea  that  all  misery  is  confined  to 
this  life,  or  preached  against  the  doctrine  of  future  punishment  in 
the  desks  of  those  who  believe  that  doctrine  ;  hut  we  neither  Joiow, 
nor  have  heard  of  such  instances,  and  therefore  venture  to  say  they 
are  not  numerous.  Let  us,  however,  apply  the  remark  we  made  in 
the  preceding  paragraph  :  we  think  that  sermons  have  been  preached 
in  the  desks  of  those  wlio  believe  in  future  punishment,  in  which  par- 
ticular texts  were  applied  to  this  life,  which  some  Uuiversalists  would 
refer  to  a  state  of  punishment  after  death.  But  this  is  no  more  than 
what  Mr.  Wood  himself  has  repeatedly  done  in  his  writings.  But, 
after  all,  how  trivial  is  the  statement  we  are  replying  to !  Is  there 
any  impropriety  in  preaching  directly  on  this  subject  in  any  desk? 
If  we  are  not  misinformed,  some  of  those  brethren  who  believe  in 
future  punishment  have  preached  that  doctrine  in  the  desks  of  those 
who  do  not  believe  it ;  and  we  confess  we  never  have  been  able  to 
discover  any  impropriety  in  this  practice.  Our  union  will  never  be 
jeopardized  by  frankness ;  it  is  only  the  secret  plotting  of  a  domestic 
enemy  that  can  endanger  it. 

"  They  also  state,  in  the  way  of  complaint,  the  treatment  they 
have  received  in  the  editorial  management  of  the  Magazine. 

"  To  show  that  this  complaint  is  without  cause,  we  offer  the  fol- 
lowing statement.  It  is  abridged  from  a  long  and  very  particular 
account  which  one  of  the  editors  gave,  in  writing,  to  Mr.  Turner, 


120  EOSEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

more  than  a  month  before  he  finally  approved  of  the  Appeal.  It  may 
be  proper  to  state  that  after  giving  Mr.  Turner  this  account,  the 
writer  added,  '  if,  contrary  to  my  expectation,  it  should  still  appear 
to  you  that  we  have  injured,  I  ask  of  you  the  boon  of  a  brother, — 
forgiveness.'     This  forgiveness,  it  seems,  is  not  for  us. 

STATEMENT. 

"  '  1.  The  "  Proposals  "  (so  called)  by  "  Restorationist "  had  been 
published  in  the  Magazine  about  eight  weeks  before  we,  at  Mr. 
Bowen's  request,  became  the  editors.  In  the  mean  time,  there  was  a 
controversy  {not  about  future  punishment)  but  about  the  ijropriety  of 
acceding  to  the  plan  ivhich  the  Proposals  offered,  viz.  :  to  write  a  state- 
ment of  doctrine  on  each  side  of  the  question,  etc.  2.  When  we 
engaged  to  become  editors,  Mr.  Ballon,  2d,  of  Eoxbury  {ivho  has 
never  held  "  that  all  human  misery  is  confined  to  this  life  "),  told  Mr. 
Ballou,  of  Boston,  that  he  wished  that  controversy  about  the  Pro- 
posals to  be  stopped  immediately.  Mr.  Ballou  replied  that  having 
been  himself  engaged  in  the  controversy,  he  would  have  nothing  to 
do  in  the  editorial  management  of  it,  but  leave  it  entirely  in  the  bauds 
of  the  two  other  editors.  Mr.  Ballou,  2d,  then  persuaded  Mr. 
Whittemore  (the  other  editor)  to  join  in  stopping  the  controversy; 
and  himself  wrote  the  notice  to  "  Restorationist,"  excluding,  in 
future,  the  controversy  concerning  simply  the  Proposals.  This 
notice  was  inserted  in  the  first  paper  that  came  out  under  our  care. 
3.  After  this  notice  teas jrrinted,  we  received  the  "two  communica- 
tions from  Restorationist "  which  he  says  were  in  our  office  when  we 
closed  the  controversy  "  by  an  editorial  edict."  (Be  particular  to 
observe  that  this  controversy  which  we  had  closed  was  not  about 
future  punishment,  but  about  the  propriety  of  the  Proposals  .;  let  it  be 
observed,  too,  that  if  auy  wished  to  accept  of  those  Proposals,  they 
were  at  perfect  liberty  so  to  do, —  our  exclusion  of  the  controversy 
notwithstanding.)  4.  Afterwards  we  gave  the  following  notice  :  "  if 
any  person  or  persons  think  proper  to  accept  those  Proposals,  we  shall 
be  ready  to  make  known  such  acceptance  through  the  medium  of  this 
paper."   5.  After  this,  "  Restorationist,"  over  the  signature  "  Lover  of 


COUNSELS    UNION  AND   PEACE.  Ill 

Truth,*'  sent  another  Proposal.  This  secoud  Proposal  we  published, 
altho'  nobody  (either  one  Party  or  the  other,  to  use  his  own  darling 
epithet)  had  seen  fit  to  accept  his  first  Proposal.  But  we  pointed 
out  some  faults  in  it.  He  then  sent  us  the  reply  (published  in  the 
Appeal),  which  contains  a  third  Proposal.  This  we  rejected  ;  and  it 
is  the  only  one  that  we  can  with  propriety  be  said  to  have  rejected 
from  this  author.' 

"  Let  the  reader  remember  that  the  whole  of  that  management  of 
the  Magazine,  of  which  the  authors  of  the  Appeal  complain,  was  in  con- 
sequence of  the  counsels  of  that  editor  who  has  never  held  '  that  all 
misery  is  confined  to  this  life,'  and  that  in  complaining,  they  as  much 
complain  against  their  own  Party  (to  borrow  their  favorite  term)  as 
against  any  other  Party  in  the  universe.  Of  what  importance,  let  us 
ask,  was  the  controversy  about  Proposals  which  everybody'  had  the 
opportunity  to  accept?  Had  we  written  the  Proposals  ourselves,  we 
would  have  stopped  any  controversy  about  them  which  was  likely  to 
occupy  much  of  the  paper. 

"Three  more  particulars  we  will  insert  from  the  account  sent  to 
Mr.  Turner,  and  we  have  done : 

'"6.  We  have  not,  we  think,  rejected  one  communication  in  favor 
of  the  doctrine  of  future  punishment.  7.  We  had  rejected  at  least 
eight  communications  designed  to  support  the  doctrine  of  no  punish- 
ment after  death.  8.  We  had  rejected  many  communications,  on  other 
subjects,  from  the  friends  and  supporters  of  the  Magazine.' 

"  We  now  take  our  leave  of  the  Appeal. 

"  It  seems  necessary  carefully  to  caution  those  brethren  who  live  at 
a  distance  against  supposing  that  the  disaffection,  manifested  in  the 
Appeal,  is  between  those  ivho  believe  in  future  imnishment  and  those 
who  do  not.  The  whole  of  that  aft'air  was  got  up  solely  by  the 
authors,  whom  we  have  named  ;  and  with  them  it  will  end.  It  has 
not,  and  will  not  extend  to  one  single  minister  beside  them  in  the 
whole  Convention.  The  indubitable  proofs  of  anxious  devotion  to 
the  union  of  our  Convention,  which  we  have  received  from  all  quarters, 
have  exceeded  our  expectations. 

"We   cannot   conclude   without  expressing   our  gratitude  to  our 


122  ROSEA   BALLOU,   2d,    D.D. 

brethren  who  have  so  magnanimously  stepped  forward  and  furnished 
us  with  the  testimony  we  needed.  It  has  been  an  unspeakable  con- 
solation, in  this  season  of  affliction,  to  see  those  brethren  who  believe 
in  future  punishment  and  those  who  do  not,  manifesting  but  one 
spirit,  and  equally  assisting  in  exposing  the  enemy  that  sows  discord. 
We  cannot  particularize,  — God  bless  them  all. 

"The  respected  editor  of  the  'Christian  Repository'  we  beg  to 
accept  of  our  thanks  for  the  friendly  and  impartial  feelings  he  mani- 
fested in  his  editorial  remarks  on  inserting  the  Appeal.  It  may  be 
proper  to  give  this  public  testimony  of  our  confidence  in  his  brotherly 
afifection,  in  order  to  prevent  unfavorable  suspicions  in  the  minds  of 
readers. 

"We  sympathize  in  the  general  grief  of  our  brethren.  Some  of 
us  can  remember  the  friendship  of  former  days ;  and  the  recollection 
brings  up  so  many  scenes  of  lost  happiness  that  it  is  more  than  the 

heart  can  endure. 

"HOSEA  BALLOU, 
HOSEA  BALLOU,  2d. 
THOMAS  WHITTEMORE." 

In  this  document  Hosea  Ballon,  2d,  showed  himself  possessed 
of  the  fighting  qualities  that  characterized  the  Yorkers  and 
the  New  State  men,  as  we  have  seen,  in  his  native  Guilford. 
Always  for  peace,  he  could  wage  a  wordy  warfare  when  it 
seemed  to  be  the  only  sure  means  of  honorable  and  lasting 
peace.  "  It  produced  a  stunning  effect,"  says  Thomas  Whitte- 
more.  No  rejoinder  was  attempted,  "  and  it  seems  to  have 
had  the  force  of  demonstration  among  the  people."  ^  In  the 
office  of  the  Magazine,  at  the  Southern  Association  in  June  at 
Stafford,  Conn.,  and  in  December  at  Milford,  Mass.,  and  at  the 
General  Convention  held  at  Clinton,  New  York,  in  1823,  and 
elsewhere  in  the  councils  of  the  denomination,  Hosea  Ballou, 
2d,  acted  the  part  of  a  moderator  and  a  peacemaker  in  the 
various  "settlements,"  private  and  otherwise,  which  averted, 

1  Whittemore's  "  Life  of  Hosea  Ballou,"  vol.  II,  p.  222. 


COUNSELS    UNIOX  AND   PEACE.  123 

or  at  least  delayed  several  years,  the  threatened  schism.^  It 
has  indeed  been  questioned  whether,  had  he  remained  in  the 
editorial  chair,  his  wise  and  conciliatory  attitude  would  not 
have  made  the  temporary  remedy  a  permanent  cure.^  But  Jan- 
uary 1,  1831,  Rev.  Adiu  Ballou  began  the  publication  of  the 
Independent  Messenger  as  a  Restorationist  organ,  and  the 
Massachusetts  Association  of  Universal  Restorationists  was 
organized,  numbering  at  its  best  thirty-one  preachers,  but  as 
Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  stated  in  a  public  letter  to  Charles  Hudson, 
November  25,  1831,  the  Universalist  General  Convention  "now 
counts  among  its  members,  as  it  ever  has  done,  more  Restora- 
tionists than  belong  to  that  party  that  seems  to  identify  all  its 
movements  with  that  appellation."  But  few  in  numbers  and 
scattered  over  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island,  their  organiza- 
tion soon  became  extinct  and  "  to  a  considerable  extent  fused  " 
into  the  Unitarian  denomination.  "  Thomas  Whittemore  and 
myself,"  wrote  Adin  Ballou  in  The  Universalist,  February  4, 
1871,  "were  the  hotspurs  of  the  war  —  its  fiercest  antagonists 
in  battle,"  but  years  before,  "  the  last  remains  of  the  hatchet 
were  buried  forever." 

Said  Dr.  Brooks,  in  1878,  of  Hosea  Ballou,  2d :  "  There  has 
come  to  be  a  very  general  settling  of  thought  among  us  on  the 
ground  he  occupied  ;  "  ^  which  is  confirmed  by  the  following  lan- 
guage formally  adopted  by  the  Universalist  ministers  of  Boston 
and  vicinity:  "Salvation,  secured  in  the  willing  mind  by  the 
agencies  of  divine  truth,  light,  and  love,  essentially  represented 
in  Christ,  —  whether  effected  here  or  in  the  future  life,  —  is  sal- 
vation by  Christ,  and  gives  no  warrant  to  the  imputation  to  us 
of  the  '  death  and  glory  '  theory,  alike  repudiated  by  all."  * 

1  For  fuller  account  see  Eddy's  "  Unlversalism  in  America,"  vol.  II,  pp.  307-342. 

2  In  1830  Adin  Ballou  called  Hosea  Ballou, '2d,  to  Milford  to  solemnize  his  marriage, 
and  in  his  old  age  he  averretl  he  "  always  loved  and  respected  him." 

3Quarterl>-,  October,  p.  400. 

4  The  Universalist,  March  2, 1878. 


124  HOSE  A  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

Aside  from  the  difficult  Restorationist  problem  which  con- 
fronted Hosea  Ballon,  2d,  when  he  became  one  of  the  editors 
of  the  Universalist  Magazine  in  1822,  his  four  years'  service 
in  that  capacity  were  comparatively  peaceful.  His  was  the 
restraining  influence  that  often  held  his  more  aggressive  co. 
editors  in  check.  The  publication  office  of  the  paper,  at  first 
at  10  Congress  Street,  near  the  present  Congress  Street  en- 
trance to  the  Boston  Exchange  building,  was  removed  in 
February,  1824,  to  "  4  Province  House  Row,"  ^  being  that  part 
of  Washington  Street  in  front  of  the  ancient  Province  House 
and  nearly  opposite  the  Old  South  Church.  There  was  the 
trysting  place  of  the  Universalist  clergy  in  Boston,  and  there 
the  three  editors  met  at  least  twice  every  week.^ 

As  standing  clerk,  or  secretary,  of  the  General  Convention, 
succeeding  Edward  Turner,  for  the  critical  fifteen  years, 
1824-1839,  Hosea  Ballon,  2d,  was  able  to  exert  a  beneficent 
influence  for  union  and  peace.  Had  he  and  his  followers  joined 
the  separatists,  how  different  would  have  been  the  history  of 
the  Universalist  denomination  in  the  past  sixty  years  ! 

Throughout  New  England,  at  least,  he  was  omnipresent  at 
dedications,  installations,  and  associations,  and  there  his  efforts 
for  union  and  peace,  in  a  broader  sense,  became  better  known. 

At  an  installation  service,  in  his  charge  to  the-  society  he 
would  say :  — 

"  Judging  by  what  we  have  seen  in  other  societies,  we  must 
expect  that,  occasionally,  or  in  process  of  time,  there  will 
spring  up  among  you  some  personal  resentments,  in  one  mem- 
ber towards  another, — some  blunders  on  one  side  that  will 
give  offence  on  another  side.  Yes,  my  friends,  the  season  will 
come  when  some  of  you  will  get  involved  in  the  mutual  jeal- 

1  The  records  at  City  Hall  show  that  Province  House  Row  was  so  named  in  1817  to 
avoid  renumbering  the  "  Marlboro'  Street "  of  those  days. 
-  See  T.  Whittemore,  Trumpet,  June  18, 1859,  p.  10. 


COUNSELS    UNION  AND  PEACE.  125 

ousies  and  personal  dislikes  which  all  bodies  of  men  are  at 
times  subject  to.  And  if  any  of  you  who  now  hear  me 
should  ever  fall  into  these  petty  discords,  I  pray  you,  when  the 
time  comes,  remember  not  to  stay  away  from  this  house  of 
worship  in  order  to  show  off  your  anger  or  resentment.  Now 
it  is  the  very  first  step  with  some,  in  such  cases,  to  revenge 
their  peevishness  on  their  religious  connection.  That  is  the 
first  thing  to  be  given  up  by  them,  because  it  is  what  they  care 
least  about.  They  will  sacrifice  nothing  else,  neither  their 
political  relations  nor  even  their  amusements,  because  they 
love  these.  If  there  is  a  political  election,  their  resentments 
will  not  keep  them  away  from  the  ballot  box ;  if  there  is  a 
social  party  or  some  public  diversion,  they  are  as  ready  as  ever 
to  go  there  ;  but  they  will  not  go  to  church,  because  they  would 
rather  leave  this  off  than  anything  else.  Take  care,  my 
friends,  we  beseech  you  take  care,  when  the  time  comes,  that 
you  do  not  expose  yourselves  in  this  broad  and  ridiculous 
light,  and  thus  bring  disgrace  upon  us  all." 

"  In  union  is  strength."  He  knew  full  well  that  "  united 
we  stand  ;  divided  we  fall."  And  Dr.  Ballon  urged  union  and 
peace  the  more  persistently  because  he  looked  far  into  the 
future. 

At  the  re-dedication  of  the  School  Street  Church,  Boston,  in 
December,  1851,  to  cite  one  of  many  instances,  he  said:  — 

"  We  cannot  shut  out  from  view  the  long  future,  which 
reaches  away,  beyond  the  limits  of  our  own  lives,  into  more 
distant  periods,  when  all  who  are  now  assembled  will  be  gone 
from  the  stage  of  action ;  and  through  the  successive  years, 
near  and  remote,  of  that  yet  untrodden  tract  of  time,  we  con- 
template you  and  your  children  after  you  to  the  third  and 
fourth  generation,  coming  up  hither,  on  each  returning  Sun- 
day, to  pay  their  devotions  within  these  walls,  and  to  listen  to 
the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God  which  bringeth  salvation  to  all 


126  HO  SEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

men.  We  join  with  you  in  prayer  to  God  that  these  anticipa- 
tions may  be  fulfilled  in  coming  years  and  generations ;  and 
that  the  future  multitudes  who  shall  kneel  around  this  altar 
may  bless  your  memory,  not  only  for  the  conveniences  you 
have  provided,  but  for  the  religious  institutions  and  saving 
influences  which  you  shall  have  sent  down  to  them." 


CHAPTER   VI. 

ANCIENT  HISTORY   OF   UNIVERSALISM. 

"  It  was  some  time  in  1823  or  1824  that  Mr.  Ballou,  2d,  first 
proposed  to  Mr.  Whittemore  the  plan  of  getting  up  a  history 
of  Universalism.  He  called  Mr.  Whittemore's  attention  to  the 
fact  that  there  was  no  history  of  our  precious  doctrine  anywhere 
to  be  found  and  never  had  been.  He  said  it  would  be  a  great 
task  to  seek  out  the  fragments  of  knowledge  scattered  abroad 
ever}'^ where  and  briug  them  together.  'But,' said  he,  'we  can 
do  it.  We  are  both  young  and  in  good  health.  We  live  in  the 
vicinity  of  Harvard  College  Library,  you  only  a  mile  from  it. 
Let  us  begin  and  feel  our  way  along,  and  pursue  the  labor  when 
we  have  nothing  else  to  do,  for  we  must,  in  the  nature  of  things, 
have  some  leisure.  I  will  take  the  Ancient  part '  (said  he),  '  and 
bring  up  the  history  to  the  epoch  of  the  Reformation  ;  and  you 
take  it  up  at  that  time  and  bring  it  forward.  You  will  have  to 
learn  some  of  the  European  languages ;  and  I  advise  you  to 
begin  with  the  French.'  This  fired  up  Mr.  Whittemore's  soul; 
and  the  two  went  to  work."  So  wrote  Rev.  Thomas  Whitte- 
more, late  in  life.^ 

It  was  a  work  to  which  Hosea  Ballou,  senior,  with  two  others 
had  been  appointed  by  the  General  Convention  in  1816,  and 
for  which  a  prospectus  was  issued  in  1820,^  but  it  was  never 
written ;  neither  he  nor  his  associates  were  made  for  historians. 

For  four  years  and  a  half  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  visited  the 
Harvard  College  Library  once  a  week,  sometimes  oftener,  in 
prosecuting  his  undertaking.     The  original   research  requisite 

^  In  Trumpet,  June  18, 1859,  p.  10. 

*  See  Universalist  Magazine,  October,  1820,  for  copy  of  prospectua. 

127 


128  HOSEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

to  the  successful  accomplishment  of  the  herculean  task  he  had 
set  himself  means  a  liberal  education  in  itself.  He  performed 
the  task  of  his  own  sole  motion,  and  at  his  own  risk  and  cost, 
unless  indeed  we  except  the  mere  pittance  he  received  for  his 
work.  Although  the  preface  to  the  first  edition  of  "The 
Ancient  History  of  Universalism "  was  written  October  22, 
1828,  and  he  applied  for  copyright  October  30  of  the  same 
year,  it  purports  to  have  been  published  in  1829,  and  one  of  the 
first  volumes  he  received  from  the  publishers,^  handsomely 
bound  in  leather,  he  inscribed  and  presented  affectionately  to 
his  father  on  March  5,  1829.2 

It  is  hardly  possible,  in  the  space  now  at  our  command,  to 
give  the  reader  an  adequate  suggestion  of  this  monumental 
work  of  three  hundred  and  twenty-six  pages.  The  work  was 
finished  when  he  was  thirty-two  years  old,  but  so  vast  is  the 
original  research  it  exhibits,  yet  so  simply  and  at  the  same  time 
accurately  expressed,  that  his  name  and  fame  would  have  been 
secure  upon  that  work  alone.  "  The  ease  with  which  he  read 
works  in  Latin  was  of  immense  advantage  to  him,"  says  Whitte- 
more,  and  he  adds :  "  Mr.  Ballon  exhausted  the  subject  so  far 
as  the  first  six  centuries  of  the  Christian  era  are  concerned."  ^ 

Happily,  the  author  himself  prepared  a  brief  resume  of  this 
work  in  1838,*  only  portions  of  which  we  have  space  to  present. 

"THE  ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  UNIVERSALISM. 

"  [The  Ancient  History  of  Universalism,  from  the  time  of  the  Apostles,  to  its  Con- 
demnation in  the  Fifth  General  Council,  a.d.  553.  With  an  Appendix,  tracing  the 
Doctrine  down  to  the  Era  of  the  Reformation.  By  Hosea  Ballon,  2d,  etc.  Boston, 
1829.] 

"With  the  subject  here  proposed  many  of  our  readers  are,  per- 
haps, already  acquainted,  through  the  work  which  we  have  presumed 
to  name,  for  want  of  any  other,  at  the  head  of  this  article.     It  is 

1  Marsh  &  Capen,  362  Washington  Sti-eet,  Boston. 

2  This  volume  is  now  in  my  possession. 

sin  Trumpet,  June  18, 1859.  *  See  The  Expositor,  May,  1838,  pp.  184-209. 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF    UNIVERSALISM.  129 

thought,  however,  that  an  epitome  will  be  found  convenient,  and 
that  it  will  be  welcome  to  all.  If  properly  executed,  it  will  prove 
instructive,  especially  to  those  who  have  not  read  the  detailed 
account,  and  who  yet  wish  to  know  something  of  a  science  so  requi- 
site to  a  well-informed  Universalist  as  the  early  histoi-y  of  this 
important  doctrine  of  Christianity.  We  shall  aim  to  give  an  im- 
partial view,  in  as  brief  a  space  as  practicable,  of  the  opinions  held 
by  the  Christians  concerning  the  future  condition  of  mankind,  from 
the  time  of  Christ  down  to  the  end  of  the  fourth  century  :  —  the  most 
important  of  all  periods  in  dogmatic  history,  excepting  perhaps  our 
own  times.  We  say  an  impartial  view  ;  meaning  a  faithful  repre- 
sentation of  the  case  as  it  appears  in  the  mutilated  and  often 
scanty  remains  which  a  prejudiced  church  has  transmitted  to  us  from 
the  first  centuries.  But  as  these  original  documents  are  such  only 
as  the  disbelievers  of  Universalism  have  preserved  out  of  the  gen- 
eral wreck,  it  may  well  be  doubted  whether  they  afford  an  impartial 
view  of  the  case  as  it  actually  existed.  An  entire  restoration  of  the 
ancient  writings,  were  it  possible,  would  probably  be  more  favorable 
to  the  reputation  of  a  doctrine  which  was  afterwards  so  much 
abused,  and  finally  suppressed.  The  duty  of  the  historian,  however, 
is  to  confine  himself  to  the  authentic  materials,  without  attempting 
to  supply,  from  conjecture,  the  traces  which  it  is  natural  to  suppose 
must  have  perished. 

"It  should  be  observed  here  that  in  the  course  of  the  present 
article  we  may  avail  ourselves  of  several  particulars  which  have  been 
gathered,  or  marked  for  insertion,  since  the  larger  work  was  pub- 
lished. Whenevei'  such  additional  matter  is  introduced,  the  author- 
ities will  be  carefully  subjoined ;  but  when  we  merely  abridge  the 
former  narrative,  it  will  be  unnecessary  to  repeat  the  references 
which  are  there  so  fully  presented. 

TIME  OF  CHRIST  AND  HIS  APOSTLES. 

' '  Jesus  Christ  not  only  revealed  God  in  the  specific  character  of  a 
Father,  and  declared  the  love  of  God  to  the  world,  even  to  the  evil 
and  to  the  unthankful,  as  the  cause  of  his  own  mission,  and  laid 


130  HOSEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

down  other  distinguishing  principles  of  Universalism,^  but  he  also 
professed,  explicitly,  to  be  the  Saviour  of  the  world  —  not  of  a  part 
merely  ;  asserted  that  he  would  actually  draw  all  men  unto  him  ;  and 
maintained  that  all  who  shall  be  raised  from  the  dead  will  be  equal 
unto  the  angels,  and  be  the  children  of  God,  being  the  children  of 
the  resurrection.2  Should  these  intimations  be  thought  in  any  degree 
indefinite  with  respect  to  the  ultimate  extent  of  his  salvation,  we 
may  turn  to  the  more  particular  statements  which  his  apostles  gave  of 
their  doctrine  on  this  subject.  St.  Paul  taught  a  gathering  of  all  things 
into  Christ,  in  the  dispensation  of  the  fulness  of  times  ;  a  universal 
reconciliation  to  God,  through  the  blood  of  the  cross  ;  that  God  had 
included  all  in  unbelief  in  order  to  have  mercy  upon  all,  for,  that  of  him, 
and  through  him,  and  to  Mm,  are  all  things  ;  that  Christ  must  reign  till 
all  things  be  subdued  to  him,  till  all  be  made  alive  in  him,  so  that  when 
he  shall  deliver  up  the  kingdom  to  the  Father,  God  will  be  all  in  all.^ 

"With  this  doctrine,  both  Christ  and  his  apostles  taught  that  God 
will  render  to  every  man  according  to  his  work  ;  and  they  announced 
certain  special  judgments  of  the  most  terrible  kind,  which  have  been 
commonly  taken  for  eternal  torment,  but  which  appear,  on  examin- 
ing the  passages,  to  be  referred  to  the  present  life,  and  to  be  iden- 
tified with  certain  signal  retributions  of  divine  Providence  on  nations 
and  individuals. 

"  Such,  then,  was  the  form  in  which  Christianity  was  first  sent  forth 
into  the  world.  Was  it  always  received  in  this,  its  perfect  form, 
wherever  it  was  received  at  all?  This  can  hardly  be  supposed. 
With  respect  to  other  important  points,  we  know  that  it  was  widely 
modified  by  the  previous  notions  and  religious  sentiments  of  its  new 
converts  ;  and  why  not  in  respect  to  this  ?  Even  during  the  lifetime 
of  the  apostles  Christianity  was,  in  the  most  of  cases,  adulterated, 
more  or  less,  with  errors  brought  over  from  Judaism  or  heathenism. 
Mingling,  as  it  did,  with  a  mass  of  different  opinions  and  pre- 
possessions in  the  minds  of  its  first  believers,  it  was  like  a  river  of 

1 "  John  iii.  16, 17,  Matt.  v.  44-48,  Ix.  12, 13,  etc.  The  name  by  which  Christ  usually  spoke 
of  God  was  the  Father." 

2"  John  It.  42,  vi.  33, 51,  xii.  32,  Luke  xx.  35,  36." 

3 "  Eph.  i.  9, 10,  Coloss.  i.  19-21,  Rom.  xi.  32-36, 1  Cor.  xv.  iS-ae." 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF   UNIVEBSALISM.  131 

pure  water,  discharging  itself  into  a  turbid  lake.  Its  current  would 
indeed  be  strongly  marked  to  a  considerable  distance,  but  mixed  in 
various  degrees  with  the  impurities  around. 

FROM  A.D.  90  TO  A.D.  150. 

"  Remark.  During  the  age  of  the  apostles,  and  onwards,  the  course 
of  Christianity  separated  into  three  main  currents  ;  or,  rather,  its 
professors  became  distinguished  into  three  principal  divisions,  differ- 
ing widely  from  each  other  in  their  doctrines  and  manners.  The 
first  was  that  of  the  Judaizing  Christians,  the  oldest  branch,  who 
retained  the  Mosaic  rituals,  and  many  of  the  Jewish  opinions  and 
prejudices.  The  second  was  that  class  of  converts,  chiefly  Gentile, 
which  gained  the  ascendency,  and  at  length  assumed  the  title  of 
Orthodox,  or  Catholics.  The  third,  composed  also  of  Gentile  con- 
verts (mixed,  perhaps,  with  a  few  of  Jewish  origin),  made  a  great 
figure  in  the  world,  under  the  comprehensive  name  of  Gnostics. 

"  Judaizing  Christians.  This  body  was  small  in  comparison  with 
either  of  the  others,  and  disappeared  at  an  early  date,  leaving  few 
traces  in  ecclesiastical  history.  We  cannot  ascertain  whether  it  held 
any  peculiar  views  respecting  the  future  state.   .  .   . 

"  Orthodox,  or  Catholics.  Judging  from  the  Apostolical  Fathers, 
the  only  remains  which  this  class  has  left  us  from  the  period  under 
consideration,  the  Orthodox  appear  generally  to  have  held  a  doctrine 
of  future  punishment ;  and  some  of  them  vehemently  denounced 
those  (meaning  the  Gnostics)  who  denied  a  future  judgment. 
Whether  they  supposed  that  retribution  to  be  temporary,  or  endless, 
cannot  be  determined,  though  some  of  them  applied  to  it  the  epithet 
aionios,  or  everlasting.  This,  indeed,  was  the  invariable  practice, 
as  we  shall  find  at  a  later  period,  even  of  those  who  maintained 
explicitly  an  end  of  all  punishment.   .   .   . 

"  Remark.  The  Orthodox  received  some  converts  from  the  philo- 
sophical schools  of  the  Greeks ;  but  the  writings  of  these  scholars 
are  lost.  The  Apostolical  Fathers,  on  the  other  hand,  were  illiterate 
men  ;  and  their  works  are  tainted  with  the  vulgar  notions  rather  of 
heathens  and  Jews,  than  with  traces  of  what  was  called  philosophy. 


132  HO  SEA  BALLOU,   2d,   D.D. 

"  Gnostics.  These,  by  amalgamating  Christianity  with  the  Ori- 
ental philosophy,  as  well  as  with  the  Grecian,  introduced  a  mass  of 
fables  and  allegories  concerning  God,  the  emanation  of  spirits,  the 
creation  of  the  material  world,  and  the  origin  and  nature  of  man. 
.  .  .  The  mission  of  Christ  was  to  give  mankind  the  knowledge  of 
the  true  God,  who  is  pure  love,  and  to  teach  them  to  return  to  him. 
Most  of  them  denied  a  future  judgment ;  some,  all  punishment  after 
death;  and  a  large  part  held  the  salvation  of  all  souls.   .   .  . 

*' Their  bitter  enemies,  the  Orthodox,  do  not  seem  to  have  im- 
peached their  doctrine  of  the  final  salvation  of  all  souls,  though 
some  of  that  party  regarded  the  denial  of  a  future  judgment  as  a 
damnable  heresy.  There  was  no  communion  or  fellowship  between 
the  body  of  the  Orthodox  and  that  of  the  Gnostics.   .   .   . 

FROM  A.D,   150  TO  A.D.   190. 

"  In  all  the  [Orthodox]  writers  of  this  period  we  find  the  doctrine 
of  a  future  judgment,  and  also  the  doctrine  of  future  punishment. 
To  this,  the  most  of  them,  like  the  authors  of  the  Sibylline  Oracles, i 
applied  the  epithet  aionios,  or  everlasting.  Some  of  these,  however, 
believed  it  would  at  length  be  terminated  by  annihilation ;  some,  as 
we  have  seen,  by  a  restoration ;  of  the  rest  we  cannot  ascertain  the 
precise  views.  Justin  Martyr,  who  passed  the  active  portion  of  his 
life  (a.d.  140-166)  partly  at  Alexandria  and  partly  at  Rome,  habit- 
ually calls  it  aionion,  or  everlasting  punishment,  fire,  etc.  In  one 
passage,  however,  in  which  he  more  strictly  defines  his  views,  he 
asserts  the  ultimate  annihilation  of  the  wicked.  The  same  may 
he  said  of  Irenaeus  (a.d.  180-190),  originally  of  Asia  Minor,  but  at 
that  time  bishop  of  Lyons  in  France. ^  .   .  . 

' '  The  Orthodox  prosecuted  an  incessant  and  bitter  controversy 
with  the  Gnostics,  objecting  against  some  of  them,  among  innumera- 
ble other  things,  their  denial  of  a  future  judgment  and  punishment ; 
but  they  appear  not  to  have  impeached  their  doctrine  of  the  ultimate 
restoration  of  all  souls. 

1 "  SibylUna  Oracula  Lib.  II,  pp.  201-213,  Paris,  1607." 

2 "  Justini  M.  Opp.  Paris,  1742.  Praefat.  Part  II,  cap.  XII.  Irenaei  Adv.  Her,,  Lib.  V, 
cap.  XXXVI,  §§  1,  2." 


ANCIENT  HISTOBY  OF   UNIVERSALI8M.  133 

FROM  A.D.  190  TO  A.D.  270. 

^'■Remark.  Thus  far,  all  the  Christian  writers  extant  used  the 
Greek  as  their  vernacular  language.  But  henceforward  we  shall 
find  it  convenient  to  divide  the  Orthodox  themselves  into  the  Eastern 
or  Greek,  and  the  "Western  or  Latin.  ...  In  one  respect  the  Greek 
fathers  had  a  manifest  advantage  over  the  Latin  ;  they  read,  in  their 
own  mother  tongue,  the  original  of  the  New  Testament,  and  the 
Septuagint  version  of  the  Old  ;  and  they  have  always  been  accounted 
more  skilful  interpreters  of  the  Sacred  text  than  their  Western 
brethren,  who  relied  on  the  Latin  translations.  The  latter  were 
often  guilty  of  criticisms  that  could  never  have  occurred  to  a  Greek 
writer.  .   .   . 

"Greek  Orthodox,  or  Catholics.  Titus  Flavins  Clemens  (a.d. 
195),  or  Clement  of  Alexandria,  president  of  the  renowned  Cate- 
chetical School  in  that  city,  was  the  most  leai*ned  and  illustrious  of 
all  the  Christian  fathers  before  Origen.  Alexandria,  the  degenerate 
successor  of  Athens  as  the  mistress  of  literature,  had  become,  what 
Germany  now  is,  the  seat  of  all  the  various  philosophisms  under 
heaven  ;  and  Clement  partook  deeply  of  the  spirit  of  the  place  and 
of  the  age.  He  was  the  great  advocate  for  the  sacred  honor  of  phi- 
losophy, as  the  coadjutor  of  revealed  religion  ;  and  there  can  be  no 
question  that  his  Christianity  was  modified  by  the  Eclecticism  of 
his  day.  The  class  to  which  he  belonged  saw  in  the  Scriptures  a 
far-reaching  sense,  that,  while  it  included  the  obvious  signification  of 
the  text,  did  not  stop  there,  but  went  onward,  through  the  allegorical 
and  the  mystical,  into  the  infinite  depths  of  unexplored  truth.  .   .  . 

"He  is  distinguished  from  other  Universalists  among  the  ancient 
Greek  fathers  by  one  remarkable  circumstance :  he  rarely  (perhaps 
only  once)  applies  the  epithet  aionios  to  future  punishment.  It 
should  be  observed,  also,  that  his  Universalism  does  not  appear  to 
have  occasioned  any  complaint  among  his  contemporaries,  nor  to 
have  incurred  the  impeachment  even  of  after  ages. 

"  The  extent  of  his  learning,  joined  to  his  labors  and  sufferings  in 
the  cause  of  Christianity,  secured  him  a  high  place  in  the  lasting 
respect  of  the  Church.     It  will  be  readily  judged  that,  as  president 


134  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

of  the  great  theological  school  of  his  time,  he  must  have  exerted  a 
wide  influence,  and  given  a  direction  to  the  opinions,  especially  of 
his  scholars.  Among  these  were  Alexander,  afterwards  bishop  of 
Jerusalem,  and  the  celebrated  Origen. 

"  The  name  of  Origen  needs  no  eulogy  of  ours,  accounted,  as  he 
always  has  been,  one  of  the  most  illustrious  examples  of  learning, 
piety^,  and  Christian  meekness  that  have  arisen  in  the  Church.  He 
was  born  (a.d.  185)  of  Christian  parents,  at  Alexandria,  and  suc- 
ceeded his  master  Clement  (a.d.  203)  in  the  pi'esidency  of  the 
Catechetical  School,  which  he  raised  to  its  highest  point  of  renown. 
Scholars  from  among  the  heathen,  as  well  as  Christians,  flocked  to 
his  instructions ;  the  sciences,  philosophy,  morals,  religion,  and 
especially  the  holy  Scriptures,  were  the  subjects  of  his  lectures ;  and 
the  number  of  his  converts  attests  the  skill  with  which  he  made  the 
entire  field  of  literature  contribute  to  the  confirmation  of  Christianity, 
and  illustration  of  its  doctrines.  After  nearly  thirty  years  of  un- 
paralleled exertion  and  success  in  his  school,  the  jealousy  of  his 
bishop  drove  him  fi'om  Alexandria  (a.d.  230),  when  he  retired  to 
Palestine. 

"  Like  his  master  he  was  a  devout  admirer  of  the  New  Platonism, 
and  developed  his  scheme  of  Christianity  in  accordance  with  the 
principles  of  his  Eclectic  philosophy.  Like  him,  also,  he  adopted 
the  allegorical  method  of  explaining  the  Scriptures  ;  and,  improving 
upon  his  master,  he  reduced  it  to  a  definite,  but  most  extravagant, 
system. 

"  His  doctrine  of  Universal  Salvation  was  connected  with  nearly 
the  same  views  that  Clement  had  entertained  respecting  the  state  of 
the  dead,  and  the  consummation  of  all  things.  Before  the  death  of 
Christ  all  souls  went  to  the  under-world.  But  when  Christ  descended 
thither,  he  released  the  souls  of  the  righteous,  and  introduced  them 
into  paradise  ;  which,  however,  is  not  heaven,  but  a  preparatory 
place,  situated  on  some  part  of  the  earth.  Ever  since  Christ's 
descent  to  Hades^  the  way  into  paradise  is  open,  and  the  souls  of 
the  righteous  enter  therein  at  death.  Here  they  are  clothed  with 
pure  ethereal  bodies,  and  instructed  and  disciplined ;  and,  as  they 


ANCIENT  HISTOBY  OF   UNIVEB8ALISM.  135 

advance  in  spiritual  improvement,  they  rise  to  higher  regions,  though 
none  can  reach  the  seats  of  perfect  blessedness  before  the  general 
judgment.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  when  the  wicked  die,  their  souls 
receive  a  subtle  body  (probably  of  gross  air) ,  and  hover  about  the 
earth,  forlorn  and  disquieted,  suffering  a  foretaste  of  the  punish- 
ments that  await  them  at  the  day  of  doom.  The  world  will  at 
length  be' destroyed,  or  renovated,  by  a  universal  conflagration; 
and  all  souls,  both  of  saints  and  sinners,  will  be  subjected  to  the 
searching  operation  of  the  fire,  with  more  or  less  pain,  according  to 
the  degree  of  their  sinfulness.  This  is  also  the  period  of  the  gen- 
eral resurrection  and  judgment ;  when  the  righteous  shall  be  received 
to  heaven,  with  various  degrees  of  glory,  and  the  wicked  consigned 
to  aionion^  or  everlasting  punishment.  This  is  the  epithet  that  Origen 
habitually  applies  to  it.  But  he  holds,  with  Clement,  the  salutary 
nature  of  all  the  divine  inflictions,  and  maintains  that  the  torments 
of  the  damned  will  result  in  their  reformation.  They  will  be  appor- 
tioned, both  in  length  and  sevei'ity,  to  the  wickedness  and  obstinacy 
of  the  sufferers  ;  the  way  of  repentance  will  still  be  open  to  all ;  and 
they  who  shall  embrace  it  will  be  accepted.  At  last  the  whole 
intelligent  creation  shall  be  purified,  evil  be  extirpated  from  the 
universe,  and  God  become  all  in  all.^  It  should  be  observed  that 
although  the  doctrine  of  Universal  Salvation  abounds  in  his  works, 
in  his  popular  lectures  as  well  as  in  his  more  labored  treatises,  yet 
in  two  or  three  passages  he  recommends  caution  in  declaring  it,  lest 
it  should  be  abused  by  the  thoughtless  and  licentious. 

"Both  Clement  and  Origen  held  this  doctrine,  partly  on  philo- 
sophical grounds,  and  partly  on  the  testimony  of  the  Scriptures. 
Origen,  especially,  quotes  most  of  the  texts  that  are  now  adduced, 
as  directly  in  point,  by  Universalists ;  but  a  host  of  other  passages 
also  are  pressed  into  his  service,  by  means  of  his  allegorical  inter- 
pretations. Neither  Clement  nor  Origen  ever  treats  the  subject  as 
a  matter  of  dispute  among  the  Orthodox  ;  and  we  may  repeat  of 
the  latter,  what  we  have  said  of  the  former,  that  his  Universalism 

1" Besides  the  references  in  the  'Ancient  History  of  Universalism,'  see  MUnscher's 
'  Handbuch  der  Clirist.    Dogmengeschichte,"  Bii.  II,  pp.  402,  403,  496-509." 


136  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

does  not  appear  to  have  occasioned  any  complaint  during  his  life- 
time.  .   .   . 

"  We  have  a  few  words  to  add  respecting  the  subsequent  course  of 
Origen's  life  and  the  relations  he  held  with  the  principal  dignitaries 
of  the  Church.  After  his  final  departure  from  Egypt,  in  a.d,  231, 
he  resided  chiefly  in  Palestine,  though  he  visited  Athens,  Nicomedia 
on  the  Propontis,  Cappadocia,  and  Bostra  in  Arabia,  He  died  at 
Tyre,  a.d.  253.  While  in  Palestine  he  maintained  a  school  at 
Caesarea,  where  his  instructions  were  sought  by  students  from  all 
quarters.  Most  of  the  distinguished  bishops  of  the  East  were 
either  his  scholars  or  his  ardent  admirers.   .   .   . 

"  Latin  Orthodox,  or  Catholics.  Among  these  we  find  no  cer- 
tain traces  of  Universalism.  The  most  eminent  of  their  writers, 
Tertullian,  a  presbyter  of  Carthage,  in  Africa  (a.d.  204),  is  thought 
to  have  been  the  first  who  asserted  explicitly  that  the  torments  of 
hell  would  be  of  equal  duration  with  the  bliss  of  heaven.  Minucius 
Felix  (a.d.  210),  probably  a  native  of  the  same  country,  teaches 
that  the  misery  of  the  wicked  will  be  without  measure  and  without 
end,  and  appears  to  represent  that  such  was  the  common  faith  of 
Christians.  The  renowned  Cyprian,  who  was  bishop  of  Carthage 
in  Africa,  from  a.d.  249  to  a.d.  258,  followed  his  favorite  author, 
Tertullian,  in  the  belief  of  the  absolute  eternity  of  punishment ; 
and  both  of  them  betray  a  savage  exultation  in  the  thought,  which 
shows  that  the  doctrine  was  but  too  congenial  with  their  hot  African 
temper.   .   .   . 

"  General  Remark.  From  the  survey  now  taken  it  is  seen  that  both 
the  doctrine  of  endless  punishment  and  that  of  Universal  Salvation 
existed  in  the  Orthodox  Church  of  this  age.  The  Greeks,  especially 
those  of  the  Alexandrian  school,  appear  to  have  inclined  to  the 
latter ;  the  Latins,  to  the  former.  No  disturbance,  however,  no 
reproach  was  occasioned  by  this  diversity ;  and  the  standard  of 
Orthodoxy,  on  the  point,  went  no  farther  than  to  require  a  belief  in 
future  punishment,  leaving  every  one  to  judge  for  himself  of  the 
result.   .   .   . 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF   UNIVERSALISM.  137 

FROM  A.D.  270  TO  A.D.  390. 

"  Remark.  In  the  Greek  churches  the  influence  of  Origen  was 
deeply  felt  throughout  this  period  ;  not  more,  however,  in  its  relation 
to  the  particular  tenet  of  Universalism,  than  in  respect  to  the 
general  system  of  doctrine  he  had  maintained.  .  .  .  It  is  remarkable 
that  neither  in  the  Western  churches,  nor  in  the  Eastern,  do  we  meet 
with  any  complaints  whatsoever  against  the  doctrine  of  Universal- 
ism, even  from  those  who  did  not  believe  it ;  although  nearly  every 
other  tenet  in  the  entire  range  of  theology  was  called  in  question, 
and  subjected  to  the  severest  scrutiny. 

"  Greek  Orthodox,  or  Catholics.  Many  of  the  fathers  belong- 
ing to  this  period  held  the  salvation  of  all.^  Indeed,  the  doctrine 
was  so  far  from  being  deemed  heretical,  that  it  was  not  regarded  as 
a  subject  of  the  least  offence,  or  as  affording  occasion  for  any  un- 
favorable remark.   .   .   . 

"  Latin  Orthodox,  or  Catholics.  Among  these  we  discover  but 
few  traces  of  Universalism  during  this  period.  There  was,  how- 
ever, a  diversity  of  opinion  respecting  the  future  state  and  the  final 
condition  of  mankind.   ... 

OOlSrCLUSION. 

"Till  the  year  390,  or  rather  394,  the  doctrine  of  Universal  Salva- 
tion was  never  impeached  in  the  Christian  world.  Orthodox  or 
heretic.  Among  the  heretics  we  find  broad  traces  of  it  from  the 
beginning ;  and  many  of  them  denied  all  future  punishment.  It 
must  be  confessed,  however,  that  they  were  led  to  this  denial  by  the 
principles  which  they  had  adopted  from  the  Oriental  philosophy, 
rather  than  by  their  interpretations  of  Scripture.  Among  the  Ortho- 
dox it  is  uncertain  whether  their  earliest  writers,  the  Apostolical 
Fathers,  believed  in  the  salvation  of  all,  or  in  endless  damnation,  as 
they  do  not  express  themselves  definitely  on  this  question,  though 
some  of  them  held  a  future  punishment.  With  regard  to  this  latter 
particular,  it  is  curious  to  mark  the  progress  of  sentiment.  In  their 
very  earliest  works,  the  Epistle  of  Clement  of  Rome,  and  those  of 

1  "Neander's  '  AUgemeine  Geschichte,'  etc.,  Bk.  II,  Abth.  Ill,  p.  946." 


138  HOSEA  JBALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

Ignatius  of  Antioch,  it  is  either  wholly  omitted,  or  else  expressed  in 
the  most  indefinite  manner.  Afterwards  we  find  it  introduced  as  a 
peculiar  motive  of  terror ;  and  as  such  it  became  more  and  more 
employed.  From  the  year  140  or  150,  onwards,  we  meet  with  dis- 
tinct traces  of  Universalism,  but  always  in  connection  with  future, 
or,  as  it  was  then  called,  aionion,  punishment.  That  the  Orthodox, 
however,  derived  their  views  of  hell  from  the  heathen  and  Jewish 
religions  seems  unquestionable,  on  account  of  their  similarity. 
When  the  Greek  philosophy  and  the  heathen  superstitions  began  to 
prevail  in  the  Church,  they  soon  succeeded  in  delineating  the  entire 
topogrcqjhy  of  the  infernal  realm,  pointed  out  its  divisions,  described 
its  regulations,  and  familiarly  brought  to  light  all  its  secrets.  From 
the  year  200  we  find  three  distinct  opinions  received  in  the  Church, 
concerning  the  final  state  of  mankind:  1,  Universal  Salvation;  2, 
the  annihilation  of  the  wicked  ;  3,  theu'  endless  damnation.  The 
second,  however,  was  confined  to  a  very  few,  was  never  prevalent, 
and  soon  disappeared  altogether.  The  doctrine  of  Universalism  was 
patronized  chiefly  by  the  Alexandrian  and  the  Antiochian  Schools 
of  divines. 

"  In  the  year  394  a  quarrel  broke  out  in  the  East,  between  the 
Origenists  and  their  opponents,  in  which  some  of  the  latter  attacked, 
for  the  first  time,  the  particular  tenet  of  the  ultimate  salvation  of 
the  devil ;  and  in  the  year  399  some  of  the  councils  that  were  con- 
vened against  the  Origenists  condemned,  expressly,  the  doctrine  of 
the  salvation  of  the  devil  and  his  angels,  though  they  passed  by  the 
kindred  belief  in  the  salvation  of  all  mankind  without  a  censure." 

Of  Hosea  Ballou,  2d's  "  Ancient  History  of  Universalism," 
Rev.  Thomas  J.  Sawyer,  d.d.,  says  :  "  It  is  a  monument  to  his  in- 
dustry, his  learning,  and  his  candor ;  and  had  he  never  written 
another  line,  would  have  entitled  him  to  the  highest  place  among 
our  ministers.  I  entered  the  ministry  the  very  year  this  history 
was  first  published,  and  I  remember  vividly  the  surprise  and 
pleasure  with  which  I  read  it.  Associated  as  I  had  been  for 
five  or  six  years  while  getting  my  education  almost  wholly  with 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF   UNIVERSALI8M.  139 

orthodox  people,  ...  I  had  always  heard  Universalism  spoken 
of  as  a  new  doctrine,  a  peculiar  heretical  phase  of  these  last 
times,"  ^  —  a  graceful  tribute  of  the  aged  theologian  to  the 
author,  who,  on  a  September  afternoon  in  1829,  at  historic 
Winchester,  N.  H.,  gave  him  the  right  hand  of  fellowship  at 
his  entrance  into  the  ministr3^^ 

In  the  columns  of  the  Trumpet,  in  1829  and  1830,  Hosea 
Ballou,  senior,  lavished  unstinted  praise  on  the  work  of  his 
grandnephew.  He  had  longed  to  see  the  work  done  since  Joel 
•Foster,  of  New  Salem,  wrote  to  him,^  August  1,  1798,  "  I  am 
sensible  that  Origen,  of  the  third  century,  and  some  other  an- 
cient Fathers,  doubted  the  strict  eternity  of  this  punishment." 
It  was  a  work  which  he  and  his  associates  nine  years  before, 
under  instructions  from  the  General  Convention,  had  despaired 
of  accomplishing,  —  a  work  which  presented  "a  most  interest- 
ing view  of  the  twilight  in  which  the  bright  and  glorious  faith, 
taught  by  Jesus  and  his  apostles,  was  seen  after  their  times, 
before  it  became  shrouded  by  the  intense  darkness  into  which 
the  apostasy  carried  the  Church,"  and  he  expressed  his  gratitude 
for  the  "immense  labor,  patience,  and  perseverance,"  on  so  grand 
a  theme,  which  had  "not  been  labored  by  any  other  histo- 
rian." What  would  have  been  his  amazement  could  Father 
Ballou  have  seen  the  authorship  of  "  The  Ancient  History  of 
Universalism  "  ascribed  to  him,  as  the  writer  discovered  in  the 
catalogue  of  the  British  Museum  in  London  sixteen  years  ago, 
and  indeed  more  recently  in  the  catalogues  of  many  libraries  in 
our  own  country,  not  indeed  excepting  —  thanks  to  some  care- 
less librarian  — the  Sunday-school  library  of  the  very  society  in 
Boston  to  which  he  ministered !  Hosea  Ballou,  senior,  never 
claimed  credit  for  any  but  his  own  work. 

1  See  Christian  Leader,  Boston,  April  13, 1893. 
-  See  Whittemore's  "  Life  of  Hosea  Ballou,"  vol.  Ill,  p.  58. 

3 Letter  VIII,  p.  52,  "A  Literary  Con-espondence,"  etc.,  published  in  1799  by  Mr. 
Foster.    See  rare  copy  in  Boston  Athenaeum. 


140  HOSEA  BALLOU,   2d,  D.D. 

A  half-century  after  its  publication  Adin  Ballon  wrote :  "  It 
gives  the  doctrine  of  universal  salvation  a  preeminence,  dignity, 
and  influence  which  time  will  only  magnify."  ^ 

The  second  edition  of  "  The  Ancient  History  of  Universalism  " 
was  published  at  Providence,  R.  I.,  and  in  the  Preface,  dated 
January  1,  1842,  Hosea  Ballon,  2d,  expressed  the  feeling  that 
"  this  history  needs  to  be  written  anew,  and  on  a  more  philo- 
sophical plan,  especially  in  the  former  part."  The  third  edition 
was  published  in  Boston,  December  1,  1871,  with  notes  by  Rev. 
A.  St.  John  Chambr^,  a.m.,  and  Rev.  T.  J.  Sawyer,  d.d.,  and 
reprinted  in  1885. 

Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  had  a  burning  desire  to  come  face  to  face 
with  original  authorities  to  learn  the  theology  of  the  early 
Church,  and  his  passion  was  in  large  measure  realized.  Con- 
temporaneously with  Von  Ranke  in  Germany,  he  applied  the 
methods  of  science  to  the  study  of  history,  let  it  lead  him 
wheie  it  would,  —  in  no  polemic  spirit,  —  and  his  scholarly 
work  did  much  to  convince  fair-minded  men  of  all,  even 
of  orthodox,  creeds  that  Universalism  was  in  large  measure 
•the  theology  of  the  Church  in  the  first  four  centuries  of  the 
Christian  era. 

In  "  The  Scriptural  Doctrine  of  Retribution,"  published  in 
1878,  Dr.  Edward  Beecher  says  (p.  123)  :  "  Dr.  Ballou  also  has 
written  a  '  History  of  Ancient  Universalism,'  in  which  is  pre- 
sented a  very  different  state  of  facts  from  that  alleged  by  Mr. 
Lecky  and  Prof.  Shedd.  He  claims,  and  truly,  a  much  wider 
range  and  far  greater  power  for  the  doctrine  of  universal  salva- 
tion than  they  admit.  The  work  is  one  of  decided  ability,  and 
is  written  with  great  candor  and  a  careful  examination  of 
authorities.  In  our  opinion  it  would  benefit  Mr.  Lecky  and 
Prof.  Shedd  attentively  to  consider  all  the  facts  and  authorities 
presented  in  it.     We  think,  however,  that  he,  and  especially  his 

1 "  The  Ballous  in  America,"  p.  757. 


ANCIENT  HI8T0BY  OF   UNIVEBSALI8M.  141 

editors,  in  a  number  of  cases,  draw  conclusions  that  go  beyond 
the  authorities  to  which  they  refer." 

This  work  turned  attention  to  the  early  Christian  faith ;  and 
among  the  thinking  clergy  of  all  creeds  it  performed  the  valu- 
able service  of  providing  an  historical  basis  for  the  most  glorious 
Christian  faith  in  the  universal  Fatherhood  of  God  and  Brother- 
hood of  man. 

In  January,  1833,  B.  B.  Mussey  published  the  first  American 
edition  of  the  "  History  of  the  Crusades  against  the  Albigenses 
in  the  Thirteenth  Century,"  from  the  French  of  J.  C.  L.  Simonde 
de  Sismoudi,  being  a  sort  of  episode  in  his  great  work,  "  His- 
toire  des  Fran9ais."  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  planned  the  undertak- 
ing as  a  continuation  of  his  "  Ancient  History  of  Universalism  " ; 
he  edited  the  work,  and  wrote  the  Introduction,  for  which  he 
was  paid  "  about  sixty  dollars,"  but  the  editor's  name  does  not 
appear  anywhere  in  the  286  pages.  In  the  Introduction  Mr. 
Ballou  "  traced  the  previous  fortunes  of  the  Albigensian  sects  " 
and  "pointed  out  their  origin." 

The  body  of  the  work  is  an  English  translation  published 
anonymously  in  London  in  1826.  "  The  period  of  which  it  treats 
begins  with  the  early  part  of  the  thirteenth  century,  when  the 
first  crusade  against  the  Provengals  was  attempted,  and  runs 
onward  through  nearly  forty  years  of  succeeding  carnage  and 
desolation. 

"At  the  beginning  of  the  period  this  ill-fated  region  [of 
France]  appears  a  bright  and  sunny  spot,  like  Goshen  of  old, 
while  darkness  lay  around  on  all  the  face  of  the  land ;  at  its 
conclusion,  to  use  the  words  of  the  English  translator,  '  it  seems 
as  if  the  night  of  ignorance  and  tyranny  had  closed  upon  the 
nations  forever.'  Nor  was  it  till  three  centuries  afterwards,  if 
we  except  the  appearance  of  Wickliffe  and  Huss,  that  the 
Reformation  again  dawned  upon  Europe  and  effectually  dissi- 
pated the  shades  which  had  enveloped  the  world  for  ages." 


142  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2(1  D.D. 

In  the  appendix  of  thirteen  pages  is  an  account  of  the 
Waldenses  and  Albigenses,  from  Venema's  "  Historica  Ecclesias- 
tica,"  tome  VI,  §§  115-126.1 

On  the  organization  of  the  Universalist  Historical  Society,  at 
the  session  of  the  General  Convention  at  Albany  in  1834,  it 
was  eminently  fitting  that  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  became  the  first 
president. 

1  See  H.  Ballou,  2d,  on  "  The  Cathari  or  Albigenses,"  in  the  Quarterly,  October,  1850, 
pp.  363-393. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

THE   EXPOSITOR   AND   THE   QUARTERLY. 

Hardly  had  the  *'  Ancient  History  of  TJniversalism"  "proved 
to  its  publishers,  Marsh  &  Capen,  that  there  was  a  demand 
among  Universalists  for  heavier  and  more  scholarly  treatment 
of  theological  s'  ''ejects  than  was  feasible  in  the  seven  or  eight 
weekly  publications  of  the  denomination,  than  Hosea  Ballon, 
2d,  persuaded  them  to  undertake  the  publication  of  a  bi- 
monthly magazine,  entitled  The  Universalist  Expositor.  The 
plan  originated  with  the  younger  Ballon  and  was  mainly 
promoted  by  him ;  he  was  indeed  "  the  soul  of  the  work,"  ^ 
although  at  the  outset  Hosea  Ballon,  senior,  was  associated 
with  him  as  editor,  and  was  a  frequent  contributor.  In  the 
early  numbers  fully  one  third  of  the  contributions  are  from  the 
pen  of  Hosea  Ballon,  2d.  The  first  two  annual  volumes,  sub- 
stantially bound  in  leather,  are  before  me,  and  contain  380  and 
384  octavo  pages,  respectively.  It  was  the  importance,  indeed 
the  necessity,  of  education  in  the  ministry  that,  lirst  of  all, 
prompted  the  work.  But  with  only  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  clergymen  in  the  denomination  at  that  time,  the  financial 
outlook  was  not  brilhant.  The  undertaking  was  an  act  of 
heroism.  "  It  would  be  difficult,"  says  Dr.  Sawyer,  "  to  estimate 
the  influence  exerted  by  the  Expositor  on  our  condition."  ^ 

In  the  announcement  of  the  Expositor  it  was  said  :  "  It  will 
consist  chiefly  of  Dissertations  on  points  of  Biblical  Literature  ; 
Critical  Interpretations  of  Texts  ;   Explanations  of  Scriptural 

1  Thomas  Whlttemore,  in  the  Trumpet,  June  18, 1859. 

2  Christian  Leader,  April  13, 1893. 

143 


144  HO  SEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

Phrases  and  Subjects  ;  Doctrinal  Discussions  ;  and  Expositions, 
both  illustrative  and  historical,  of  Religious  Truth  in  general. 
.  .  .  The  embellishments  of  Poetry  will  not  be  wholly  neg- 
lected, of  which  the  best  original  pieces  which  our  resources 
afford  will  be  selected  for  insertion." 

The  publishers  hoped  "  that,  should  the  work  maintain  its 
proper  character,  we  shall  be  able,  before  the  end  of  the 
current  year,  to  propose  a  suitable  reward  for  the  encourage- 
ment of  the  correspondents.  Meanwhile  we  ask  the  commu- 
nications of  those  who  are  qualified  and  willing  to  aid  in  the 
establishment  of  such  a  publication." 

The  first  article  of  twenty  pages  in  the  first  number  of  the 
Expositor  (July,  1830),  "  A  Dissertation  on  the  Phrase,  King- 
dom of  Heaven,  as  used  in  the  New  Testament,"  bears  the 
signature  which  was  ever  after  familiar,  "  H.  B.,  2d  " ;  and  the 
second  —  an  article  of  six  pages  —  bears  the  initials  "  H,  B," 
It  in  turn  was  followed  by  a  poem  from  each  of  them ;  the 
following  from  '^  H.  B.,  2d  "  :  — 

God  came  from  Teman,  and  the  Holy  One  from  Mount  Paran.  —  Habakkuk  iii :  3. 

The  mighty  God  from  Teman  came, 

The  Holy  Oue  from  Paran  hill ; 
His  glory  wrapt  the  heavens  in  flame, 

And  all  the  earth  his  name  did  fill. 

Before  his  feet,  a  baleful  light, 

The  pestilence  moved  ou  in  wrath ; 
The  nations  scattered  at  the  sight, 

And  fled  asunder  from  its  path. 

He  stood  —  and  while  his  eye  surveyed 

The  quaking  earth  and  heaving  main, 
The  hills  bowed  down,  the  mountains  fled. 

The  streams  rolled  backward  through  the  plain, 


HOSEA  BALLOU,  2d. 

[From  an  Oil  Painting  by  Giddings  Hyde  Ballou. 

Owned  by  Tufts  College.] 


THE  EXPOSITOB  AND    THE   QUARTEELY.  145 

Th'  o'erflowing  deep,  by  thunder  riven, 
Came  rushing  where  the  land  had  been  ; 

The  sun  and  moon  stood  still  in  heaven, 
And  looked,  in  silence,  on  the  scene. 

I  saw  —  and  terror  struck  me  dumb  ; 

My  joints  dissolved,  my  senses  froze  — 
I  saw  the  God  of  judgment  come. 

To  cheer  his  saints,  and  crush  their  foes.^ 

Walter  Balfour  contributes  two  pages,  and  is  the  only  other 
contributor  to  the  first  number  of  sixty-four  pages. 

Henry  Bacon,  William  S.  Balch,  William  S.  Ballou,  Edwin 
H.  Chapin,  Thomas  F.  King  and  his  son  Starr,  Horace  Greeley, 
Sarah  C.  Edgarton,  Sebastian  Streeter,  Stephen  R.  Smith, 
Samuel  C.  Loveland,  Thomas  B.  Thayer,  Lucius  R.  Paige, 
Alonzo  A.  Miner,  and,  second  to  none  of  these,  Thomes  J. 
Sawyer  and  his  gifted  wife,  Caroline  M.  Sawyer,  are  among 
those  remembered  as  his  contributors. 

On  completion  of  the  second  volume,  in  May,  1832,  the  pub- 
lication was  suspended  for  lack  of  patronage.  It  did  not  "  pay." 
But  to  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  it  was  not  a  question  of  dollars  and 
cents  ;  in  six  months  he  yielded  to  the  imperative  "  ought,"  and 
January  1, 1833,  gave  to  the  public  the  first  number  of  the  Ex- 
positor and  Universalist  Review,  through  anonymous  "pro- 
prietors," and  it  was  continued  through  the  year  —  a  volume 
of  440  pages.  Still  undaunted,  after  an  interim  of  four  years, 
January  1,  1838,  the  Expositor  was  revived  and  continued 
through  three  years,  to  the  end  of  1840,  completing  the  sixth 
volume.  Each  number  contained  seventy-two  octavo  pages,  or 
"  432  pages  in  the  course  of  the  year,  at  two  dollars  per  annum, 
payable,  in  all  cases,  on  delivery  of  the  first  number."  Sub- 
scriptions were  few ;  some  subscribers  were  delinquent ;  $300 

1  Expositor,  vol.  I,  pp.  30, 31. 


146  HOSEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

was  lost  by  its  publication  in  1839 ;  and  in  November,  1840, 
Abel  Tompkins  announced,  "  The  Expositor  must  stop ! " 
Three  years  pass,  and  in  January,  1844,  with  better  times, 
Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  as  editor,  and  Abel  Tompkins  as  publisher, 
issued  the  first  number  of  The  Universalist  Quarterly  and 
General  Review,  containing  108  pages,  or  432  pages  per  volume, 
at  two  dollars  per  annum.  "  While  it  covers  all  the  ground  that 
was  formerly  occupied  by  the  Expositor  and  Universalist  Re- 
view," says  the  Introduction,  "it  is  proposed  to  take  in  a  much 
wider  field,  embracing  such  departments  of  general  literature, 
both  secular  and  religious,  as  shall  be  deemed  of  popular  interest." 
Twelve  years  he  edited  the  Quarterly  alone  —  two  years  with 
the  aid  of  Rev.  George  H.  Emerson.  A  total  of  twenty  volumes ! 
For  eleven  years  he  modestly  refused  to  have  D.  D.  added  to 
his  name  as  editor,  until  1856. 

"  Can  you  give  me  anything  for  the  next  Quarterly?  I  can- 
not get  much  of  the  kind  I  really  wish  for.  If  you  have  any- 
thing on  hand,  or  that  you  can  readily  put  in  shape,  pray  send 
it  on.  Give  my  respects  to  Mrs.  Sawyer,  and  tell  her  that 
though  I  would  not  be  importunate,  it  would  gladden  me  much 
to  see  another  communication  from  her."  So  Dr.  Ballou  used 
to  write  Dr.  Sawyer.  A  valued  contributor  died,  and  he 
writes :  — 

"  Alas  !  Mrs.  Mayo  is  taken  from  us  in  the  morning  of  her  days. 
When  I  saw  the  paper  announcing  her  death,  whom  I  saw 
alive  and  well  so  little  while  ago,  the  news  seemed  incredible; 
nor  can  I  realize  it  as  yet."  That  beautiful  annual.  The  Rose 
of  Sharon,  was,  in  a  peculiar  sense,  the  creation  of  Sarah  C. 
Edgarton  Mayo. 

From  his  study  in  Medford,  December  31, 1849,  he  writes  :  — 

Brother  Saivyer,  —  My  opinion  is  that  the  old  proverb  ought 
always  to  be  read  with  a  condition,  thus  :  "  Ride  not  a  free  horse  to 
death,  if  you  can  get  along  well  without !  "     I  think  it  so  stands  in 


THE  EXPOSITOR  AND   THE   QUABTEBLY.  147 

the  original.     And  the  truth  is,  I  cannot  get  along  well  without.     I 
want  another  article  from  you  for  the  Quarterly.   .   .  . 

I  ought  to  have  written,  ere  this,  to  thank  Mrs.  Sawyer  for  her 
excellent  review  of  Mrs.  Mayo's  biography  and  poetry.  It  has  given 
great  satisfaction.  I  think  she  has  hit  on  the  finest  specimens  of 
poetry  in  the  volume,  and  presented  them  with  effect.  If  she  can 
find  any  leisure  to  spare  from  the  preparation  of  the  next  Rose,  I  would 
most  respectfully  request  her  to  let  us  have  an  article,  — say  on  the 
German  poets  or  poetry,  or  on  the  female  poets  of  our  own  country. 
I  only  suggest  these  as  topics  in  case  she  should  have  none  already 
in  mind.  .  .   . 

The  following  is  a  characteristic  letter  :  — 

Medford,  April  18,  1850. 

Brother  Saivyer, —  I  have  been  looking  for  something  from  you, 
but  as  it  does  not  come  I  take  Mohammed's  alternative,  and  so,  here 's 
something  from  me.  Can  you  let  us  have  an  article  for  next  Quarterly  ? 
This  is  the  everlasting  question  number  one.  You  recollect  you 
said  something  of  a  letter  of  Luther's  ;  will  that  answer  for  an  article? 
historisch-dogmatische  oder  litterarische.  If  you  can  favor  us  in 
this  way,  you  know  how  glad  we  shall  be,  though  I  do  not  use  the 
vehemently  urgent  expostulatory  style  with  which  I  make  applications 
to  some  of  our  writers,  knowing  that  your  time  and  strength  are 
already  tasked  severely.  But  if  there  be  an  opportunity  in  which 
you  can  reasonably  furnish  something  for  us,  just  suppose  my  request 
carried  up  to  the  fortieth  power,  thus :  pra^/  do  4". 

Question  number  two.  Can  you  inform  me  whether  there  has 
been  of  late  an  edition  of  Clemens  Alexandrinus  in  Germany  or 
France?  And  if  there  has  been,  where  I  may  find  its  title  and  price? 
Brother  Ryder  gave  me  a  Catalogue  of  Lippert  and  Schmidt's 
Antiquarischen  Biicher-Lagern,  in  which  I  find  "  Clementis  (Alex.) 
opera  gr.  et  lat.  ed.  Potter,  2  vol.  Oxford  1715  fol."  at  15  Thaler,— 
which  is  cheap.  If  there  has  been  no  recent  edition  I  am  disposed 
to  order  a  copy  of  Potter's  from  Lippert  &  Schmidt  (Halle).  At  15 
Thaler  there,  it  probably  would  not  cost  me,  on  delivery  here,  more 


148  HO  SEA  BALLOU,   2d,   D.D. 

than  about  $15.  I  want  Clemens,  in  order  to  try  my  hand  at  a 
radical  "de  novo  "-cal  essa}'  on  his  writings,  genius,  and  doctrines, 

—  not  that  I  am  quite  vain  enough  to  think  myself  adequate  to  the 
undei'taking  ;  but  there  has  been  so  little  said  of  Clemens,  in  com- 
parison with  the  notices  that  are  constantly  appearing  of  Origen, 
that  something  seems  needed  to  make  him  better  known.  .  .   . 

Yours  truly, 

H.  BALLOU,  2d. 
Rev.  T.  J.  Sawyer. 

Dr.  Ballou's  familiarity  with  the  work  of  German  scholars  is 
shown  in  some  of  his  articles.  Schleiermacher  and  Schelling 
were  just  finishing  their  work,  and  Eduard  Zeller's  great  work 
on  Greek  philosophy  had  only  begun.  Dr.  Ballou's  trend  of 
thought  back  to  Athens  and  Alexandria  appears  to  have  been 
established  independently,  however,  in  1828,  before  he  became 
familiar  with  them. 

It  was  on  the  appearance  of  the  first  number  of  the 
Quarterly  that  he  wrote  the  following  letter :  — 

Medford,  December  6,  1843. 
Brother  Satvyer, — Yours  of  the  20th  ult.  did  not  come  to  hand 
till  day  before  yesterday  (Monday),  as  I  had  not  been  in  Boston  for 
a  fortnight  before ;  or  rather  my  hand  did  not  come  at  it  till  then, 
when  I  found  it  in  my  box  at  the  Trumpet  office.  But,  what  a 
letter ! !  I  take  it  to  be,  chemically  speaking,  the  basis  of  all 
acidity,  and  shall  communicate  the  discovery  to  some  of  the  eminent 
chemists  of  the  day,  if  I  can  find  out  who  they  are.  Why,  sir,  it 
had  eaten  away  one  half  of  the  box  where  it  lay  at  Whittemore's,  it 
destroyed  three  pockets  for  me  in  bringing  it  home  to  Medford,  and 
here  I  am  forbidden  by  law  to  keep  it,  except  under  a  covering  of 
four  feet  of  water,  and  at  least  eighteen  inches  from  the  bottom  and 
sides  of  the  reservoir,  and  the  water  in  which  it  is  immersed  becomes 
aqua  fortis  in  thirty  minutes,  producing  about  240  gallons  per  day, 

—  all  which  is  simple  unexaggerated  fact,  howsoever  astounding  it 


THE  EXPOSITOR  AND    THE   QUABTEBLY.  149 

may  be.  It  is  possible  that  I  sometimes  write  in  the  way  of 
rhodomontade  (by  the  way,  is  there  any  such  word,  and  if  so,  what 
does  it  mean?),  but  now  I  write  seriously,  in  strictly  scientific 
language. 

Well,  to  fall  at  length  into  the  freer  epistolary  style.  I  found  all 
Boston  sky-high  on  Monday,  respecting  your  critique  on  the  edition 
of  Mrs.  Scott's  poems  ;  but  I  could  not  find  a  copy  of  the  Mes- 
senger containing  it,  and  so  had  to  form  my  idea  of  it  from  repre- 
sentations compared  with  what  you  say  in  your  letter.  I  am  a  cold- 
blooded animal  of  the  frog  species,  I  take  it,  and  cannot  get  the 
circulation  up  to  fever  heat  short  of  about  a  fortnight's  boiling  ;  in 
fact,  I  have  endured  Miller's  second  advent  and  found  it  only  just 
comfortable.  ...  I  am  somewhat  comforted  by  your  agreement 
with  the  doctrine  of  "  Sin  and  its  Desert,"  for  some  of  our  brethren 
think  it  a  piece  of  mystified  metaphysics,  of  no  interest  or  concern, 
and  some  that  it  is  but  a  hauling  at  the  air,  a  reaching  after  a 
shadowy  idea  that  has  no  substance.  ...  Is  not  our  Convention  the 
only  one  of  its  kind  that  has  given  a  formal  and  decided  ex- 
pression of  its  thorough  disapproval  of  slavery?  I  mean  the  only 
General  Convention  of  a  religious  sect  in  our  country. 

Having  had  occasion,  not  long  since,  to  write  Mr.  Gibon,  I  sug- 
gested to  him  the  plan  of  making  out  one  number  of  the  Theological 
Library,  with  translations  from  the  Uuiversalist  Fathers,  say 
Clement  Al.  and  Origen.  What  think  you?  If  Brother  G-.  has 
not  written  you  on  the  subject,  why  will  you  not  prepare  such  a 
volume  and  put  it  into  the  hands  of  some  publisher?  I  think  it 
would  "  go"  ;  at  any  rate,  I  am  confident  that  you  would  find  some 
who  would  take  the  risk  of  an  edition,  and  give  you  a  percentage  on 
the  sales,  if  they  would  not  offer  more  favorable  terms.  I  should  be 
highly  delighted  with  such  a  work,  and  I  think  many  others  would 
be.  Then,  might  not  another  volume  be  made  out  of  dissertations 
on  Universalism,  collected  from  English  divines?  say,  from  Bp. 
Newton,  and  others  in  the  Establishment,  and  from  eminent  English 
writers?  Both  of  these  works  you  have  the  means  of  making, 
if  you  approve  the  suggestion.     Pray  think  of    this.     When    they 


150  HOSE  A  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

appear  I  will  review  them  in  the  Quarterly,  and  condemn  them  with 
all  my  soul.  If  it  were  not  for  the  exceptions  which  you  make  in 
favor  of  my  articles  in  the  first  number  of  the  Quarterly,  I  should 
agree  in  your  judgment  of  it,  abating  a  little  of  the  tartness  ;  but 
to  all  your  strictures  on  it  I  do  reply  with  consciousness  that  I  have 
all  reason  on  my  side,  give  us  something  better  yourself.  I  put 
Greeley's  article,  however,  considerably  higher  than  you  do.  If  we 
can  get  such  as  his,  I  never  shall  complain.  In  the  mean  time,  can 
you  not  direct  me  to  somebody  who  will  write  ?  Pray  do  not  forget 
this  ;  but  if  you  can  think  of  any  one  just  mention  him. 

So  Dr.  Ballou  wrote  far  and  wide  to  properly  fill  the  columns 
of  the  Expositor  and  the  Quarterly.  Some  contributions  from 
his  dearest  friends,  he  tells  us,  he  felt  in  duty  bound  to  reject, 
and  a  temporary  coldness  ensued.  So  he  had  a  full  share  of 
the  conscientious  editor's  trials. 

As  regards  Notices,  he  wrote  in  May,  1840,  to  Rev.  T.  J. 
Sawyer :  — 

"  There  is  a  task  that  must  be  done  by  a  hand,  steady,  kind,  and 
at  the  same  time  faithful  —  the  writing  of  a  notice  (not  a  regular 
review)  of  the  Guide  to  Universalism.  I  have  been  looking  over  all 
the  list  of  contributors,  in  esse  et  in  posse,  to  the  Expositor  ;  and  I 
have  found  one  that  can  do  it,  and  but  one,  namely,  T.  J.  Sawyer, 
of  the  city  of  New  York  ;  and  he  must  do  it,  in  the  sense  in  which 
Fitz  interprets  must.  There  are  half  a  dozen  that  would  do  it,  if 
asked  ;  that  is,  they  would  give  us  the  title-page,  an  abstract  of  the 
table  of  contents,  say  it  was  printed  and  bound  handsomely,  tell 
what  good  it  will  do,  pray  for  the  blessing  of  Heaven  upon  it,  and 
Amen.  Or,  they  would  extol  it ;  or  having  extolled  it,  they  would 
pick  a  few  trivial  flaws ;  or  they  would  put  on  a  fierce  air,  and 
trample  it  —  who  so  bold  !  But  a  regular  scientific  notice  of  it, 
according  to  the  real  object  of  the  book,  its  pretensions,  and  its 
execution,  it  is  an  affair  that  I  will  trust  to  no  hand  but  yours. 
So,  I  pray  you,  make  up  your  mind  for  it.   .   .   .  It  will  be  under- 


THE  EXPOSITOB  AND    THE   QUABTEBLY.  151 

stood  that  I  aiu  responsible  for  all  the  notices,  though  I  do  not  write 
them  all ;  at  any  rate,  you  have  the  privilege  of  iucognitoship  if  you 
choose.  Our  rule  is,  no  notice  of  a  book  till  the  writer  has  read  it 
through,  unless  he  advise  us  to  the  contrary,  telling  what  he  has  read 
of  it,  and  confining  his  remarks  to  that  part." 

His  two  articles  on  "  The  Doctrine  of  Necessity  "  were  the 
last  Dr.  Ballon  contributed  to  the  Quarterly,  in  October,  1858 
and  1859,  respectively,  and,  in  1858,  following  is  the  last 
paragraph :  — 

"  What  if  we  should  conclude  to  let  the  unknown  remain 
unbridged,  till  it  shall  become  known  ?  What  if  we  should 
content  ourselves,  for  the  present,  to  abide  by  the  knowledge 
which  the  Scriptures,  as  well  as  our  moral  and  religious  nature, 
give  us,  that  we  can  do  contrary  to  the  will  of  God,  that  we  are 
responsible  for  our  conduct,  that  we  are  deserving  or  blame- 
worthy, and  are  really  virtuous  or  sinful ;  and,  at  the  same 
time,  that  God  disposes  of  the  results  of  our  agency,  and  can 
influence  our  course,  and  our  disposition,  without  violating  our 
personality"?  This  is  the  truth  which  every  man  recognizes, 
howsoever  he  may  speculate  ;  it  is  the  truth  on  which  every 
religious  man  acts.  And  it  is  enough  for  all  practical  and 
doctrinal  purposes  ;  though  it  does  not  answer  the  demand  for  a 
factitious  omniscience,  nor  a  desire  for  the  irresponsibility  of 
Fatalism." 

"  In  these  two  periodicals,"  says  Dr.  Brooks,  "  Dr.  Ballon 
gave  us  the  finest  gold  of  his  thought,  and  did  the  work  upon 
which  his  fame  will  chiefly  rest  —  the  work  that  entitled  him 
beyond  all  others  to  the  name  of  the  clarifier  and  systematizer 
of  our  theology."  ^ 

Says  Rev.  Dr.  C.  H.  Leonard :  — 

*'  The   Quarterly    at   once   took   rank   with   the   best    theological 
iln  the  Quarterly,  October,  1878,  p.  398. 


152  HO  SEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

reviews  in  the  land  ;  and  it  detracts  nothing  from  the  manifest  ability 
of  other  contributors  to  its  pages  to  say  that  the  Quarterly  won  its 
way  to  favor,  in  and  out  of  the  denomination,  through  the  energy  of 
the  one  man  who  put  his  best  life  into  it.  His  broadly  conceived, 
well-reasoned  articles,  braced  with  vigorous  sentences,  and  adorned 
with  almost  every  idiomatic  and  rhetorical  excellence,  gave  to  our 
highest  periodical  its  character.  It  was  through  these  rare  produc- 
tions that  so  graced  the  pages  of  the  Quarterly  that  very  many  who 
thought  they  knew  him  well,  first  found  out  the  man  and  the  student. 
Month  after  month  he  poured  out  the  great  wealth  of  his  learning, 
winning  the  most  thoughtful  readers  by  the  accuracy  of  his  knowl- 
edge, the  strength  and  beauty  of  his  style,  and  the  nameless  charm 
with  which  his  own  strong  sense  and  genial  humor  invested  every- 
thing which  he  wrote."  ^ 

In  the  opinion  of  Rev.  Dr.  Sawyer,  to  Dr.  Ballou  "  belonged 
most  of  the  scholarship,  and  the  discussion  of  all  topics  that 
demanded  solid  learning.  .  .  .  Many  of  the  articles  of  the 
Expositor  were  either  republished  entire  or  in  part,  or  their 
doctrine  repeated  in  our  other  papers,  so  that  what  had  been 
prepared  with  so  much  care  for  its  columns  really  became  the 
common  property  of  our  Church.  ...  It  may  seem  a  matter  of 
regret  that  so  large  a  part  of  the  fruits  of  his  life  should  now  be 
shut  up  in  this  series  of  periodicals  that  never  had  a  wide  circu- 
lation, and  are  now  not  only  unattainable  but  inaccessible  to 
the  great  majority  of  even  our  ministers.  .  .  .  They  proved 
eminently  the  educational  and  formative  force  in  moulding  our 
thought  and  shaping  our  institutions."  ^ 

To  the  first  number  of  the  Universalist  Miscellany  (1843), 
edited  by  Otis  A.  Skinner  and  Edwin  H.  Chapin,  Hosea  Ballou, 
2d,  contributed  the  first  article,  "  Haman  the  Agagite,"  and  a 
few  of  his  writings  in  his  lighter  moods  appeared  elsewhere,  but 

1  In  the  Ladies'  Repository,  July,  1S69. 
« In  the  Christian  Leader,  April  13, 1893. 


THE  EXrOSITOR  AND    THE   QUAJiTEBLY.  153 

most  of  his  articles  in  the  Expositor  and  the  Quarterly  have 
permanent  value.  It  is  with  the  view  of  making  Dr.  Ballou's 
articles  in  the  Expositor  and  the  Quarterly  more  accessible  that 
I  have  prepared  the  following 

INDEX. 

Absurdities  of  Philological  Hypercriticism.  Qr.,'  April,  1847.  pp.  173-181. 
Analogy  between  the  Present  State  and  the  Future.    Qr.,  April,  1847.    pp. 

113-128. 
Ancient  History  of  Universalism  (The).    Exp.,  May,  1838.    pp.  184-209. 
Apostolical  Churches,  and  the  Apostolical  Administration  of  the  Lord's 

Supper  (The).     Exp.,  May,  1840.     pp.  212-216. 
Ballon,  Rev.  Hosea :  His  Parentage  and  Early  Life.     Qr.,  April,  1854.    pp. 

174-194. 
Biblical  Argument  for  Capital  Punishment  as  a  Divine  Ordinance  (The). 

Qr.,  July,  1849.     pp.  341-358. 
Birth  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  its  Consequences  (The).    Exp.,  January,  1840. 

pp. 52-65. 
Book  of  Enoch  (The).     Exp.,  September,  1840.    pp.  360-363. 
Case  of  Judas  Iscariot,  as  it  is  presented  in  the  Sci'iptures.    Exp.,  January, 

1831.     pp.  208-226. 
Catharior  Albigenses-^  (The).    Qr.,  October,  1850.    pp.  363-393. 
Change  in  the  Jewish  Doctrines  after  the  Destruction  of  Jerusalem.    Exp., 

September,  1838.    pp.  360-362. 
ChapterfromCarlylethe  Younger  (A).     Qr.,  July,  1844.     pp.  324-326. 
Chapter  from  Carlyle  the  Younger  (Another).     Qr.,  April,  1845.     pp.  214- 

217. 
Christ's  Temptation  in  the  Wilderness.    Exp.,  May,  1831.    pp.  370-377. 
Christianity  the  Bread  of  Life.     Exp.,  September,  1833.     pp.  333-342. 
Christ,  the  Light  of  the  World,  and  the  Life  of  the  World.     Qr.,  January, 

1854.     pp.  83-89. 
Church  of  Christ  and  of  the  Apostles  (The).    Qr.,   October,   1850.    pp. 

403-416. 
Commentators  on  the  Blasphemy  against  the  Holy  Ghost.    Exp.,   July, 

1831.    pp.  65-68. 
Commentators  on  the  "  Sin  unto  Death."    Exp.,  May,  1833.    pp.  186-193. 
Condition  of  Men  after  Death.     Qr.,  January,  1853.     pp.  29-51. 

1  Abbreviations:  Qr.,  Quarterly;  Exp.,  Expositor. 

'See  "  History  of  the  Crusades  against  the  Albigenses  in  the  Thirteenth  Century,"  by 
Siamondi.   Edited  by  H.  Ballou,  2d,  1833. 


154  HO  SEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

Course  of  Biblical  and  Theological  Study.    Exp.,   September,  1839.    pp. 

351-361. 
"Destroy  both  Soul  and  Body  in  Hell,"  etc.    Exp.,  May,  1838.    pp.  164- 

169. 
Disadvantageous  Influence  of  former  Translations  on  our  present  English 

Version  of  the  Bible.     Exp.,  March,  1831.     pp.  321-334. 
Dissertation  on  the  Phrases,  End  of  the  World,  Last  Days,  Last  Time,  etc., 

as    used  in  the  New  Testament   (A).    Exp.,   September,  1830.    pp. 

95-113. 
Dissertation  on  the  Phrase,  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  as  used  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment (A).     Exp.,  July,  1830.     pp.  3-23. 
Divine  Goodness  versus  Endless  Misery.     Qr.,  October,  1853.     pp.  404-412. 
Divine  Purpose  in  the  Reconciliation  of  All  (The).    Qr.,  January,  1846. 

pp.  79-89. 
Doctrine  and  Life  of  Maximus  the  Confessor.     Qr.,  January,  1852.    pp. 

5-21. 
Doctrine  of  Necessity  (The).     Qr.,  October,  1858.     pp.  346-373. 
Doctrine  of  Necessity  (The).     Qr.,  October,  1859.     pp.  329-353. 
Doctrine  of  Original  Sin,  its  late  Modifications,  and  final  Abandonment  by 

Orthodox  Divines.     Exp.,  September,  1833.    pp.  352-362. 
Dogmatic  and  Religious  History  of  Universalism  in  America.    Qr.,  January, 

1848.     pp.  79-103. 
Eloquence.     Exp.,  September,  1840.    pp.  302-325. 
Equality  of  Divine  Providence,  in  its  Dealings  with  Mankind.     Exp.,  July, 

1838.     pp.  256-265. 
Evangelical  Conversion.    Exp.,  July,  1831.     pp.  38-58. 
Explanation  of  John  viii.  21.     Exp.,  January,  1832.     pp.  253-255, 
Explanation  of  Matt.  v.  29,  30,  and  the  similar  texts.     Qr.,  April,  1844. 

pp.  170-17S. 
Explanation  of  Matt.  x.  14,  15,  and  of  the  parallel  texts.    Exp.,  January, 

1833.     pp.  26-33. 
Faith  Requisite  to  Christian   Fellowship  (The).    Qr.,  October,  1846.    pp. 

366-393. 
False  Representations  of  the  Trials  attending  a  Christian  Life,  countenanced 

by  the  popular  Misapplication  of  certain  Texts.    Exp.,  January,  1831. 

pp.  236-243. 
Foster's,  John,  Letter  on  Endless  Punishment.     Qr.,  October,  1849.    pp. 

391-397. 
Fourierism  and  similar  Schemes.    Qr.,  January,  1845.    pp.  52-76. 
Fulfilment  of  the  Prophecies  against  Edom.    Exp.,  July,  1838.    pp.  266-286. 
Funeral  and  Sepulchral  Rites.    Exp.,  September,  18.33.    pp.  292-312. 
Gieseler's  Ecclesiastical  History.    Exp.,  March,  1838.    pp.  145,  146. 


THE  EXPOSITOR  AND   THE  QUABTEBLY.  155 

Goethe's  Dedication  to  his  Faust.    Poem.     (Translated  from  the  German.) 

Exp.,  March,  1838.     p.  148. 
Gospel  History;  its  Genuineness  and  Truth  (The).    Qr.,  April,  1848.    pp. 

179-196. 
Great  Moral  Conflict  (The).    Qr.,  April,  1855.    pp.  113-142. 
Hazael.     Qr.,  April,  18.53.     pp.  158-166. 
Historical  Sketch  of  Interpretations  of  1  Pet.  iii.  18-20,  and  iv.  G.    Qr.,  July, 

1853.     ("To  be  continued.")     pp.  221-248. 
Importance  and  best  Method  of  studying  the  Original  Languages  of  the 

Scriptures.     Exp.,  November,  1832.     pp.  193-205. 
Importance  of  Universalisni  in  Keligious  Culture.    Qr.,  April,  1852.    pp. 

129-144. 
Inaugural  Address  at  the  Opening  of  Tufts  College,  August  22,  1855.    Qr., 

October,  1855.     pp.  329-344. 
Interpretation  of  Figures  in  the  Prophetic  and  Poetical  Parts  of  the  Scrip- 
tures.   Exp.,  March,  1840.    pp.  129-145. 
Interpretation  of  Parables.    Exp.,  March,  1833.    pp.  101-106. 
Invocation  to  Winter.     Exp.,  January,  1832.     p.  256. 
Jewish  Usage  of  the  Word  Gehenna.     Exp.,  May,  1832.     pp.  351-368. 
Josephus  (Selections  from),  illustrating  Expressions  and  Allusions  in  the 

New  Testament.     Exp.,  January,  1839.     pp.  5-21. 
Justification  by  Faith  and  Justification  by  Works.    Qr.,  April,  1853.     pp 

182-191. 
Justin  Martyr ;  or,  The  Orthodox  Faith,  a.d.  150-165.     Qr.,  July,  1846.     pp 

272-.301. 
Meaning  of  the  Book  of  Eevelation.    Exp.,  March,  1838.    pp.  101-104. 
Methods  of  Interpreting  the  Book  of  Revelation.    Exp.,  May,  1833.    pp 

193-210. 
Millennium;  or.  The  Golden  Age  to  Come  (The).    Qr.,  April,  1847.    pp 

144-153. 
Modifications  of  the  popular  Doctrine  of  Endless  Misery.    Exp.,  July 

1831.     pp.  69-78. 
Nature  and  Conditions  of  Salvation,  according  to  the  New  Testament  (The) 

Qr.,  April,  1850.     pp.  194-206. 
New  Testament  Doctrine  of  Personal  Righteousness;  or,   of  Faith  and 

Works  with  regard  to  Justification  (The).    Exp.,  January,  1833.    pp 

7-26. 
New  Testament  Doctrine  of  Salvation  (The).    Exp.,  January,  1840.    pp 

33-51. 
New  Testament  Usage  of  the  several  Terms  translated  Spirit,  Soul,  and 

Life  (The).     Qr.,  April,  1850.     pp.  138-155. 
Nicodemus.    Qr.,  October,  1848.    pp.  395-403. 


156  ROSEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

Nineveh  and  its  Remains.    Qr.,  July,  1849.    pp.  275-301. 

Ninth,  Tenth,  and  Eleventh  Chapters  of   the  Epistles  to   the   Romans. 

With  Notes  (The).     Qr.,  July,  1852.     pp.  270-293. 
Notice  of  Recent  Publications.     Exp.,  September,  1830.    pp.  124^128. 
Notice  of  Recent  Publications.     Exp.,  March,  1833.     pp.  145-147. 
Noyes's  Translations.     Exp.,  May,  1838.     p.  220. 
Oberlin,  John  Frederick.     Exp.,  March,  1833.     pp.  119-128. 
Observance  of  Sunday  among  the  Primitive  Christians.     Exp.,  July,  1830. 

pp.  45-54. 
Opinions  and  Phraseology  of  the  Jews  concerning  the  Future  State;  from 

the  time  of  Moses  to  that  of  their  final  dispersion   by  the  Romans. 

Exp.,  November,  1833.     pp.  397-440.* 
Opinions  of  the  Christians  in  the  next  half  century  after  the  Apostolic 

Age;  or,  from  a.d.  95  to  a.d.  150.     Qr.,  July,  1844.     pp.  329-363. 
Opinions  of  the  Christians,  before  the  Council  of  Nice,  in  Relation  to  the 

Doctrine  of  the  Trinity.     Exp.,  1832.    pp.  282-308. 
Opinions  of  the  Christians,  before  the  Council  of  Nice,  concerning  the  Na- 
ture of  Redemption.     Exp.,  May,  1840.    pp.  149-172. 
Orthodoxy  against  Uuiversalism.     Exp.,  September,  1838.    pp.  331-346. 
Paige's  Commentary.     Qr.,  October,  1844.     pp.  39G-399. 
Parallelism  of  Hebrew  Poetry  (The).    Exp.,  January,  1838.    pp.  57-65. 
Philosophy  and  Doctrines  of  John  Scotus  Erigena  (The).    Qr.,  January, 

1850.     pp.  90-100. 
Phrases,  "  Born  again,"  "  New  Creature,"  etc.   (The).    Exp.,  November, 

1831.     pp.  191-194. 
Phrase,   '  Day  of  the  Lord,"  as  used  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  (The). 

Exp.,  January,  1832.     pp.  214-226. 
Phrases  "That  it  might  be  fulfilled,"  etc.  (The).    Exp.,  July,  1839.    pp. 

245-251. 
Prescott's  History  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico.    Qr.,  April,  1844.    pp.  210- 

215. 
Principles  of  interpreting  the  Language  of  the  Scriptures.    Exp.,  May, 

1833.     pp.  221-238. 
Proper  Method  of  studying  the  Scriptures  in  our  common  English  Version 

(The).     Exp.,  March,  1831.     pp.  273-294. 
Public  Attacks  on  Uuiversalism.    Exp.,  March,  1833.    pp.  137-144. 
Pulpit  Eloquence  contrasted  with  Superficial  Rhetoric.    Exp.,  July,  1839. 

pp.  276-280. 
Rationalism  in  Germany.     Qr.,  April,  1851.     pp.  186-206. 
Reformation  (The).     Qr.,  April,  1844.     pp.  136-163. 

» Eeprinted  at  Philadelphia,  1844.    It  is  the  first  in  a  volume  of  twelve  pamphlets  on  the 
Future  State,  No.  5451.54  in  Boston  Public  Library. 


THE  EXPOSITOR   AND    THE   QUARTERLY.  157 

Keserve  of  Universalists  in  urging  the   Denunciations  of  the  Scriptures. 

Exp.,  July,  1833.     pp.  259-269. 
Kesult  of  the  Proposition,  that  God  is  good  to  all.    Exp.,  September,  1830. 

pp.  117-123. 
Revelation  of  St.  John  the  Divine  (The).     Exp.,  May,  1833.     pp.  210-220. 
Review  of  the  Denomination  of  Universalists  in  the  United  States.     Exp., 

March,  1839.     pp.  77-105. 
Rich  Man  shall  hardly  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  (A).     Exp.,  No- 
vember, 1831.     pp.  194-196. 
Rise  and  Prevalence  of  Unitarian  Views  among  the  Universalists.     Qr., 

October,  1848.     pp.  370-395. 
Scriptural  Usage  of  the  Terms  ''  Son,"  and  "  Child."    Exp.,  March,  1831. 

pp.  312-316. 
Scripture  Geography.     Exp.,  January,  1840.     pp.  65-74. 
Seared  Conscience  (The).     Qr.,  Januar}%  1845.     pp.  90-99. 
Sin  and  its  Desert.     Qr.,  January,  1844.     pp.  73-84. 
Slavery  in  the  United  States.     Qr.,  July,  1848.     pp.  321-328. 
Sources   of    National    Prosperity   and    Ruin    (The).     Qr.,   October,  1846. 

pp.  421-431. 
Standing  still  of  the  Sun  and  Moon  (The).     Exp.,  November,  1839.     pp. 

404-410. 
State  of  Opinion  in  the  Churches  of  the  Apostolic  Age.    Qr.,  January,  1844. 

pp.  84-109. 
Streeter's  Familiar  Conversations.     Exp.,  July,  1833.     pp.  269-275. 
Sufferings  of  Christ  (The).    Exp.,  March,  1838.     pp.  105-124. 
Suffering  the  Vengeance  of  Eternal  Fire.    Exp.,  May,  1839.    pp.  162-168. 
Tei-m   "Mystery,"  as  used  in  the  New  Testament    (The).     Exp.,   July, 

18.33.     pp.  239-250. 
Twenty-fourth  Chapter  of  St.  Matthew's  Gospel,  illustrated  with  Notes, 

etc.  (The).     Exp.,  July,  1839.     pp.  221-245. 
Twenty-fifth    Chapter  of    St.    Matthew's    GosiJel,  illustrated  with  Notes 

(The).    Exp.,  September,  1839.     pp.  293-310. 
Ultimate  Results  of  Divine  Government.     Exp.,  January,  1838.     pp.  7-20. 
Universalism  in  the  Greek  Church.     Exp.,  November,  1840.     pp.  411^15. 
Unquenchable  Fire.    Exp.,  September,  1838.     pp.  306,  307. 
White  Mountains  (The).     Qr.,  January,  1846.    pp.  113-143. 
Whittemore  on  the  Revelation.    Qr.,  July,  1848.     i)p.  304-321. 
Whittier's  Poems.     Qr.,  April,  1849.     pp.  142-160. 
Wicked  shall  be  turned  into  Hell,  etc.  (The).    Exp.,  January,  1838.    pp. 

65-68. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

HONORS   BESTOWED. 

From  the  time  that  Hosea  Ballon,  2d,  gave  to  the  world  "  The 
Ancient  History  of  Universalism,"  in  1829,  his  reputation  for 
profound  scholarship  among  scholarly  people  everywhere  had 
been  steadily  growing.  When  the  death  of  the  great  William 
EUery  Channing,  on  October  2,  1842,  left  a  vacancy  in  the 
Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard  University,  many  uninformed 
people,  particularly  Unitarians,  were  nevertheless  surprised  to 
learn  that,  where  family  prestige  counted  for  so  much,  Hosea 
Ballon,  2d,  a  Universalist,  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy.  His 
election  was  based  simply  on  his  merits,  without  reference  to 
the  fact  that  Comfort  Starr,  a  member  of  his  family,  was  one 
of  the  founders  of  Harvard  College.  We  doubt,  indeed,  if 
the  fact  was  known  to  the  electors.^  It  was  that  politic  states- 
man and  ex-mayor  of  Boston,  Josiah  Quincy,  then  president  of 
Harvard  University,  who,  I  suspect,  was  largely  responsible  for 
his  nomination  and  election  to  the  honored  position.  The 
official  record  of  his  election  reads  as  follows: — ^ 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  Overseers  of  Harvard  Uaiversity,  in  the 
Senate  Chamber,  Boston,  ou  Thm-sday,  2  March,   1843,  at  1  p.m. 

'•'■  Present :  His  Excellency  Governor  Morton,  His  Honor  Lieutenant 
Governor  Childs,  the  Hon.  Council,  the  Hon.  Senate,  Spealcer 
of  the  House,  Hon.  D.  A.  White,  Hon.  R.  Sullivan,  Hon.  J.  I. 
Austin,  Hon.   L.   Lincoln,  Hon.  J.  Savage,  President  Quincy,  and 

1  See  pp.  18,  19,  on  Comfort  Starr. 

2  See  Records  of  the  Overseers  of  Harvard  University,  vol.  VIII,  p.  393,  in  the  Ar- 
chives of  the  Library. 

158 


HAEVAED    UNIVEBSITY.  159 

Rev.  Messrs.  Gray,  Peirce,  Jenks,  Lowell,  Codman,  Parkman,  P'ield, 
FrothinglKun.  Brazer,  Lamson,  Barrett,  Gannett,  Young,  Miller. 

"His  Excellency  Governor  ^Morton  in  the  chair.  .  .  .  Proceeded  to 
fill  the  vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Overseers  occasioned  by  the  death  of 
Dr.  Channing.  Whole  number  of  votes,  64;  necessary  to  a  choice, 
33.  The  Rev.  Hosea  Ballou,  II,  had  38  votes,  and  was  chosen.'* 
Twenty-six  votes  were  divided  among  six  other  candidates. ^ 

Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  took  his  seat  in  the  Board  of  Overseers  of 
Harvard  Universitj'-  at  a  special  meeting  held  in  the  Council 
Chamber,  Boston,  Thursday,  20  July,  IS-iS ;  and  from  his  point 
of  view  as  an  historian  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  first 
business  brought  before  the  Board  was  that  of  conferring  certain 
degrees,  among  them  the  degree  of  LL.D.  on  William  Hickling 
Prescott  and  George  Bancroft,  perhaps  the  two  greatest  his- 
torians America  has  ever  produced,  and  upon  Jared  Sparks, 
who  was  hardly  second  to  them  as  a  popular  historian. 

The  records  show  that  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  was  very  regular  in 
attendance  upon  the  frequent  meetings  of  the  Board  of  Over- 
seers. The  meetings  were  usually  held  in  the  State  House, 
Boston,  Harvard  University  being  then  more  of  the  nature  of 
a  State  University  than  it  is  now.  On  August  23,  1843,  the 
Board  met  in  Gore  Library,  Cambridge,  and  adjourned  "to  attend 
the  public  exercises  of  Commencement  at  ten  o'clock  in  the 
First  Church,  Cambridge,  jt?ro  more  solito^^  —  the  first  of  many 
Commencements  he  attended  in  his  official  capacity.  Imagine 
the  stately  scene  !  How  it  must  have  impressed  him  !  A  few 
years  before,  the  First  Church  had  reared  its  quasi-Gothic  lines 
and  taken  its  place  as  "sentinel"  across  the  ancient  burial 
ground  from  the  mournful  "  nun,"  Christ  Church,  so  well  de- 
scribed by  Holmes :  — 

iRev.  George  Putnam,  Rev.  Jacob  Ide,  d.d.,  Rev.  G.  W.  Blagden,  Rev.  G.  B.  Terry, 
Rev.  C.  W.  Upham,  and  Rev.  S.  K.  Lothrop. 


160  HO  SEA   BALLOU,   2d,   D.D. 

Like  sentinel  and  nun  they  keep 

Their  vigil  on  the  green  ; 
One  seems  to  guard  and  one  to  weep 

The  dead  who  lie  between. 

At  the  meetings  of  the  Board,  July  18  and  August  22,  1844, 
he  was  first  absent  after  his  election,  through  modesty,  no 
doubt,  obviously  having  been  advised  that  at  those  meetings 
the  usual  steps  were  to  be  taken  to  confer  the  honorary  degree 
of  Master  of  Arts  upon  him.^  In  the  records  his  name  is 
followed  by  that  of  the  eminent  botanist,  Asa  Gray,  also  a  self- 
educated  man,  upon  whom  it  was  likewise  then  voted  to  confer 
the  honorary  degree  of  A.M.  These  degrees  were  formally 
conferred  on  Wednesday,  August  28,  1844,  in  the  First 
Church,  Cambridge,  in  the  list  preserved  Hosea  Ballou,  2d, 
being  the  first  of  five  so  honored. 

At  the  meeting,  January  16,  1845,  a  movement  was  started 
in  the  Board  of  Overseers  to  raise  the  standard  of  admission 
to  College,  and  so  to  get  students  of  more  advanced  age.  At 
the  meetings,  February  25  and  March  6,  1845,  steps  were 
taken  to  disconnect  the  College  and  the  Divinity  School,  and  to 
separate  their  funds.  Mr.  Ballou  appears  to  have  taken  inter- 
est in  both  these  movements. 

A  year  after  Harvard  University  conferred  upon  him  the 
degree  of  A.M.,  namel}^  on  August  21,  1845,  the  Overseers 
had  become  so  impressed  with  the  learning  and  solid  worth  of 
their  associate  that  they  voted  to  confer  the  degree  of  D.D.^  on 
"Rev.  Hosea  Ballou,  II," — so  the  record  reads.  And  it  was 
probably  at  his  suggestion  as  a  member  of  the  Board  that  the 
honorary  degree  of  A.M.  was  at  the  same  time  conferred  on 


1  Records  of  Overseers  of  Harvard  University,  vol.  VIII,  p.  421. 

2  Records  of  Overseers  of  Harvard  University,  vol.    VIII,  p.  445.    The  Index  of  the 
Records,  however,  reads  S.T.D.,  "  Doctor  of  Sacred  Theology." 


HARVARD    UNIVERSITY.  161 

Rev.  Edwin  Hubbell  Chapin,  then  of  Charlestown.i  Thus 
Hosea  Ballon,  2d,  became  "  Dr.  Ballou,"  as  he  was  ever  after 
called  (although  he  preferred  "  Brother  Ballou  "),  except  by 
Hosea  Ballou,  senior,^  who  still  clung  to  the  time-honored  word 
"Cousin."  He  was  the  first  in  the  Universalist  ministry  to 
receive  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity,  and  no  one  ever 
questioned  that  the  honor  was  worthily  bestowed.  It  has  been 
said  by  E.  G.  Brooks,  d.d.,  that  America's  oldest  and  greatest 
university  "  more  honored  itself  than  him  by  bestowing  upon  him 
the  degree  of  D.D.,  .  .  .  which,  once  significant,  as  in  his  case, 
of  learning  and  high  scholarship,  has  now  become  so  cheapened 
as  to  signify  only  —  what  ?  "  ^  He  bore  the  honor  modestly,  but, 
as  his  intimates  at  Cornhill  for  many  years  could  say,  "  solitary 
and  alone."  At  Harvard  Commencement,  August  27,  1845,  it 
is  interesting  to  note,  among  other  celebrities,  the  great  lawyer, 
Rufus  Choate,  to  be  crowned  a  Doctor  of  Laws. 

Josiah  Quincy,  having  made  of  Harvard  a  "  working  institu- 
tion," tendered  his  resignation  of  the  presidency,  July  24, 1845,* 
and  on  April  30,  1846,  Edward  Everett,  already  famous  as  a 
statesman,  a  diplomat,  and  an  ex-governor  of  the  Common- 
wealth, was  inaugurated,  and  the  records  read  significantly : 
"  Dinner  was  then  served  in  Harvard  Hall,  for  the  first  time 
since  the  foundation  of  the  College,  without  wine."  ^ 

It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  this  work  to  sketch  in  detail 
Dr.  Ballou's  labors  as  an  Overseer  of  Harvard  University 
at  Board  and  Committee  meetings,  in  the  long  series  of  years 
he  faithfully  served  it ;  of  the  intimate  knowledge  of  courses  of 

I  It  was,  no  doubt,  also  at  his  suggestion  tliat,  in  1850,  Harvard  conferred  the  honorary 
degree  of  D.D.  on  Thomas  Jefferson  Sawyer,  and  that  of  A.M.  on  Thomas  Starr  King 
and  Lucius  Robinson  Paige,  and  in  1856  that  of  D.D.  on  E.  H.  Chapin. 

2 It  was  once  proposed,  it  is  said,  to  make  Father  Ballou  a  D.D.,  when  he  replied  :  "  I 
was  not  aware  that  Divinity  was  sick! " 

s  In  Quarterly,  October,  187S,  p.  392. 

*See  Josiah  Quincy's  "  History  of  Harvard  University." 

*  Records  of  Overseers  of  Harvard  University,  vol.  VIII,  p.  467. 


162  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

instruction  and  methods  of  government,  tlie  duties  of  the  office 
presuppose,  — for  some  who  in  after  years  spoke  of  him  as  un- 
familiar with  the  details  of  college  life  knew  not  whereof  they 
spoke. 

It  was  not  enough  that  the  president  reported,  in  stately 
form,  at  each  May  and  October  "  Exhibition,"  to  ''the  Honor- 
able and  Reverend  Committee  of  the  Board  of  Overseers," 
that  the  undergraduates  had  been  "  quiet  and  orderly,"  that 
their  " attention  to  their  studies"  had  been  "generally  faith- 
ful,"  "  obedience  to  the  laws  for  the  most  part  exemplary,"  but 
the  Overseers  received  semi-annual  reports  on  each  department, 
both  from  the  head  of  the  department  and  from  a  "  Committee 
of  Examination,"  investigated  "study  hours,"  attendance  at 
chapel,  misdemeanors,  and  by  their  votes  degrees  were  con- 
ferred. 

At  the  Commencement  in  1847  the  honorary  degree  of  A.M. 
was  conferred  on  Evangelinus  Apostolides  Sophocles,  long  the 
quaint  senior  professor  of  Greek  in  Harvard  University  ;  and 
thirty  years  afterwards  he  casually  informed  the  writer  that  he 
knew  Dr.  Ballon  intimately,  and  that  he  had  a  remarkable 
knowledge  of  the  Greek  language.  But  it  was  not  so  much  the 
Greek  as  the  history  department  and  the  library  that  received 
his  attention.  He  was  also  familiar  with  the  festal  duties  of 
a  college  overseer ;  on  July  16,  1851,  for  the  lirst  time  in  eight 
years,  he  was  absent  from  the  Harvard  Commencement. 

After  serving  as  Overseer  ten  years.  Dr.  Ballon  was,  in  1853, 
reelected,  and  from  1852  he  was  the  senior  clerical  Overseer, 
by  right  of  seniority  his  name  heading  the  lists.  At  the  annual 
meeting,  January  28,  1858,  he  attended  the  meeting  of  the 
Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard  University  for  the  last  time. 
He  had  entered  the  Board  in  the  presidency  of  Josiah  Quincy; 
he  had  continued  in  office  through  the  remainder  of  his  presi- 
dency, through  the  entire  presidency  of  Edward  Everett  and 


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HABVARD    UNIVERSITY.  163 

of  Jared  Sparks,  and  five  years  into  the  presidency  of  James 
Walker  —  a  long  period  of  service.  He  also  enjoyed  intimate 
acquaintance  with  Cornelius  C.  Felton,  then  a  professor,  and 
later  President  Walker's  successor. 

Dr.  Ballou  was  early  familiar  with  college  boys'  pranks,  for 
May  7,  1844,  President  Quincy  reported  this  sophomoric  inci- 
dent :  "  Trespasses  were  committed  in  the  night  time,"  and 
three  of  those  concerned  were  dismissed  from  the  college-, 
whereupon  a  carpenter's  shed  in  Harvard  Square  was  burned, 
bonfires  were  frequent,  and  a  considerable  portion  of  the  class 
met  and  voted  to  wear  crape  to  show  their  sympathy  for  the 
dismissed  students ;  now  the}^  burned  a  farmer's  load  of  hay  on 
Cambridge  Common,  again  they  planted  a  barber's  pole  at  the 
president's  back  door,i  etc. ;  in  a  word,  with  younger,  more 
sophomoric  students,  Mr,  Quincy  found  it  no  easy  task  to 
enforce  submission  to  authority.  With  older,  maturer  students 
at  the  end  of  Dr.  Ballou's  term  of  service,^  the  conditions  of 
Harvard  University  are  well  described  by  Dr.  John  Fiske,^  as 
follows  :  — 

"  The  examination  days  .  .  .  were  more  searching  than  at  other 
American  colleges.  The  courses  of  study  were  on  the  whole  better 
arranged  than  elsewhere,  but  during  the  first  half  of  the  course 
everything  was  prescribed,  and  in  the  last  half  the  elective  system 
played  but  a  subordinate  part.  The  system  of  examinations  did 
not  extend  to  the  law  school,  where  a  simple  residence  of  three  terms 
entitled  the  student  to  receive  the  baclielor's  degree.   .   .   . 

"  For  laboratory  work  the  facilities  were  meagre,  and  very  little 
was  done.  We  all  studied  in  a  book  of  chemistry  ;  how  many  of  us 
ever  really  looked  at  such  things  as  manganese  or  antimony  ? 

"  Here  one  is  naturally  led  to  the  reflection  that  in  that  day  of 

1  See  Ladies'  Repository  for  December,  1866,  p.  442. 

2  See  also  an  excellent  article  by  Edward  Everett  Hale  in  Harvard  Graduates  Magazine 
for  June,  1896,  pp.  562-568. 

»  Address  at  Cambridge,  June  2, 1896. 


164  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

small  things,  as  some  might  call  it,  there  were  spiritual  influences 
operative  at  Harvard  which  more  than  made  up  for  shortcomings  in 
material  equipment.  There  is  a  kind  of  human  presence,  all  too 
rare  in  this  world,  which  is  in  itself  a  stimulus  and  an  education 
worth  more  than  all  the  scholastic  artifices  that  the  wit  of  man  has 
devised  ;  for  in  the  mere  contact  with  it  one's  mind  is  trained  and 
widened  as  if  by  enchantment.  Such  a  Imman  presence  in  Cambridge 
was  Louis  Agassiz. 

"  Can  one  ever  forget  that  beaming  face  as  he  used  to  come  stroll- 
ing across  the  yard,  with  lighted  cigar,  in  serene  obliviousness  of 
the  university  statutes?  Scarcely  had  one  passed  him  when  one 
might  exchange  a  pleasant  word  with  Asa  Gray,  or  descry  in  some 
arching  vista  the  picturesque  figure  of  Sophocles  or  Peirce,  or  turn- 
ing up  Brattle  Street  encounter  with  a  thrill  of  pleasure,  not  untinged 
with  awe,  Longfellow  and  Lowell  walking  side  by  side." 

President  Charles  W.  Eliot  ^  says  :  — 

"As  to  the  income  of  the  college  in  the  '50's,  much  can  be  said 
of  interest.  The  gross  income  was  from  $105,000  to  $120,000  a 
year.  .  .  .  Salaries  paid  to  instructors  were  low.  .  .  .  The  condi- 
tion of  the  library  at  that  time  marks  distinctly  the  state  of  teach- 
ing;  there  were  few  volumes,  and  the  reading  room  was  about 
twenty  feet  square  ;  and  it  was  never  crowded.  In  the  '50's  this 
began  to  change.  Librarian  Sibley  had  come  in,  and  had  with  him 
as  assistant  Ezra  Abbott,  who  spent  several  years  in  devising  a 
card  catalogue  for  the  books.  Every  detail  was  carefully  looked 
after,  and  this  catalogue  has  made  an  epoch  in  the  library  work, 
for  it  has  become  in  almost  universal  use. 

"  Discipline  in  those  days  meant  penalties,  and  the  records  of  the 
college  for  this  period  are  largely  filled  with  this  sort  of  thing. 

"  There  were  only  about  three  hundred  undergraduates  at  this 
time.  .  .  .  There  were  only  three  recitations  each  day  in  the  college, 
and  they  were  arranged  so  as  to  give  one  to  each  student  in  the 
morning,  noon,  and  afternoon." 

iln  Sanders  Theatre,  March  27, 1896. 


MASSACHUSETTS  BOABD   OF  EDUCATION.  165 

Shortly  after  Dr.  Ballou  severed  his  official  connection  with 
Harvard  University,  his  accumulated  labors  and  exhausted 
strength  admonished  him  to  resign  another  highly  honorable 
office  in  the  educational  world ;  namely,  as  a  member  of  the 
Massachusetts  Board  of  Education.  His  term  of  office  regu- 
larly expired  in  1860,  but  he  was  absent  from  the  meetings  of 
the  Board  February  1  and  March  24,  1858,  and  on  the  latter  date 
it  was  announced  that  he  had  resigned  his  seat. 

The  Massachusetts  Board  of  Education,  consisting  of  eight 
members  and  the  Governor  and  Lieutenant-Governor  ex-afficio, 
was  established  by  an  Act  ^  approved  April  20,  1837,  and  had 
as  its  first  secretary  a  famous  educator  who  resembled  Dr. 
Ballou  in  many  respects,  Horace  Mann.^ 

It  was  December  20,  1854,  that  Dr.  Ballou  was  appointed  to  a 
seat  in  the  Board  by  the  Governor,  with  the  advice  and  consent 
of  the  Council,  and  the  records  of  the  Board,  under  date  of 
March  28,  1855,  say :  "  Rev.  Hosea  Ballou,  d.d.,  appeared  and 
took  his  seat."  ^  His  associates  on  the  Board  at  that  time  were 
Dr.  Henry  Wheatland,  Hon.  George  S.  Bout  well.  Rev.  Edward 
Otheman,  Rev.  Dr.  E.  Davis,  Rev.  Dr.  Mark  Hopkins,  Hon. 
Isaac  Davis,  and  Hon.  George  B.  Emerson. 

The  records  show  that  he  was  regular  in  attendance  and 
faithful  in  the  performance  of  his  official  duties  to  the  State. 
The  better  his  shy  nature  unveiled  itself,  the  more  he  was 
appreciated  by  his  associates.  When  Dr.  Barnas  Sears  resigned 
the  office  of  secretary  of  the  Board  to  accept  the  presidency 
of  Brown  University  in  1855,  Dr.  Ballou  was  one  of  the  com- 
mittee of  three  to  whom  his  resignation  was  referred.*    In  1856 

1  Chapter  241,  Mass.  Statutes. 

=  Horace  Mann  was  born  in  1796, —  so  was  Hosea  Ballou;  Horace  Mann  was  self-edu- 
cated,—so  was  Dr.  Ballou;  Horace  Mann  worked  for  reform  in  education,— so  did  Dr. 
Ballou;  Horace  Mann  spent  his  life  to  found  a  new  college  (1853),  —  so  did  Dr.  Ballou. 

3  See  MSS.  Records  in  State  House,  Boston,  p.  167. 

*  See  MSS.  Records  in  State  House,  Boston,  p.  176,  for  Resolutiona. 


166  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,  D.I). 

he  was  a  member  of  the  Executive  Committee,  with  Professor 
Cornelius  C.  Felton  and  Dr.  Henry  Wheatland,  which  recom- 
mended and  secured  the  appointment  of  John  W.  Dickinson 
as  principal  of  the  Massachusetts  Normal  School  at  West- 
field,  a  position  which,  having  filled  with  signal  ability  for 
nearly  a  score  of  years,  he  resigned  only  to  serve  the  Common- 
wealth for  another  score  of  years  in  the  yet  more  responsible 
position  of  secretary  of  the  Board,  and  in  effect  superintendent 
of  public  instruction  in  the  State.  Serving  on  the  Executive 
Committee  also  in  1857  and  1858,  Dr.  Ballon  was  instrumental 
in  bringing  forward  D.  B.  Hagar  to  public  notice  as  a  promis- 
ing educator.  For  years  he  was  one  of  the  two  State  visitors 
to  the  Massachusetts  Normal  School  at  Bridgewater.  Was 
there  a  vacant  State  scholarship  available  for  Tufts?  Once,  for 
example,  he  secured  the  appointment  of  a  needy  student  who 
has  since  gained  affluence  and  fame  as  an  able  lawyer  and  a  wise 
judge. 

Dr.  Ballou  believed  in  popular  education,  and  that  no  expense 
should  be  spared  to  afford  the  best.  From  the  nineteenth  an- 
nual report  (1856)  of  the  Massachusetts  Board  of  Education 
we  quote :  "  The  appropriations  for  the  school  year  1853-4, 
including  only  the  wages  of  teachers,  board,  and  fuel,  were 
$1,013,472.26 ;  and  for  the  year  1854-5  the  appropriations  for 
the  same  purpose  were  $1,137,407.76,  being  an  increase  of 
$123,935.50,  equal  to  twelve  per  cent.  This  is  a  larger  ad- 
vance than  has  ever  before  taken  place  in  the  Commonwealth, 
whether  we  regard  the  aggregate  or  the  ratio.  ...  It  is 
thought  that  the  operations  and  measures  of  the  Board  of  Edu- 
cation, in  connection  with  its  agencies,  the  Teachers'  Institutes 
and  Normal  Schools,  have  been  favorably  received." 

From  the  time  when,  in  1826,  at  thirty  years  of  age,  the 
General  Convention  of  Universalists  chose  him  its  moderator, 
Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  bore  all  his  honors  modestly.     The  less  there 


MINISTEBIAL   CIRCLE.  167 

was  of  ostentation,  the  more  the  honor  pleased  him.  Indeed, 
more  than  the  honors  of  Harvard  University  and  of  the  Com- 
monwealtli  of  Massachusetts,  I  think  he  prized  marks  of  love 
and  esteem  like  the  following  note  :  — 

Boston,  January  1,  1850. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Several  months  ago,  the  old  members  of  our  minis- 
terial circle  [about  fifty  members]  consulted  together  and  decided  to 
present  you  with  some  work  or  set  of  books,  to  be  purchased  from 
the  funds  in  the  hands  of  the  Treasurer,  as  a  token  of  their  respect 
and  esteem.  For  various  reasons,  the  execution  of  their  purpose  was 
too  long  delayed,  and  I  am  now  directed  to  send  you  the  gift  herein 
contained,  in  the  name  of  the  brethren,  and  with  our  ardent  wishes 
that  you  may  enjoy  a  happy  new  year. 

I  need  not  tell  you  how  pleasant  is  the  duty  thus  laid  upon  me, 
nor  with  what  cheerfulness  it  is  performed.  Allow  me  to  hope  that 
you  will  not  deny  us  the  privilege  of  honoring  Universalism  thus  in 
our  respect  for  its  most  faithful  advocate  and  its  most  illustrious 
name.   .   .  . 

With  the  deepest  feelings  of  attachment  and  regard, 

I  am  yours  ever, 

T.  8.  KING. 
Rev.  H.  Ballou,  20,  D.D, 

"We  cannot  resist  the  conviction,"  says  Dr.  Emerson,  "that 
the  moral  and  intellectual  character  of  Dr.  Ballou  was  extraor- 
dinary,—  extraordinary  we  mean  even  when  compared  with 
the  moral  and  intellectual  qualities  of  other  men  of  acknowl- 
edged preeminence.  There  was  an  indefinable  quality  in  both 
his  nature  and  attainments  that  compelled  other  men  to  rever- 
ence him  as  a  superior."  ^ 

1  In  Quarterly,  July,  1861,  pp.  309,  310. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

TRAVELS. 

How  sweet  and  ever  fresh  is  the  love  of  nature  inspired 
in  earliest  childhood  !  "  Green  River  Vale  and  Barney  Hill  " 
never  lost  their  hold  on  the  affections  of  Dr.  Ballon,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  the  fond  recollections  of  them  served  to  spur 
him  ofi  to  behold  new  and  distant  scenes  of  beauty  and  gran- 
deur. 

Grand  Monadnock  was  the  first  high  mountain  he  climbed. 
In  August,  1844,  he  made  the  first  of  oft-repeated  visits  to  the 
White  and  Franconia  mountains.  "  From  Concord,  N.  H.,  to 
Centre  Harbor,  Monday,  August  5,"  he  begins  a  journal.  "  Left 
Concord,  by  Meredith  stage,  a  little  before  noon."  The  note- 
books he  kept  on  his  travels,  partly  in  ink,  often  in  pencil,  — 
usually  in  English,  with  Latin  and  occasional  French  phrases 
interspersed  ;  here  a  specimen  of  freehand  drawing  in  pencil, 
showing  the  outline  and  lights  and  shadows  of  mountain 
ranges,  as  they  rise  tier  upon  tier,  the  peaks  named  and  their 
relative  and  actual  heights  shown,  or  again  an  impromptu  map 
showing  the  mountain  peaks,  the  defiles,  the  water  courses,  and 
villages,  —  are  among  the  heirlooms  of  the  family.  Picture 
him  on  the  top  of  a  mountain  coach,  before  the  day  of  railways 
there,  book  and  pencil  often  in  hand,  or  more  likely — for 
nothing  appears  to  have  escaped  his  notice  —  at  the  inn,  after 
a  day's  journey,  jotting  down  from  memory  what  he  has  seen. 
Or,  perhaps,  climbing  a  mountain  on  foot,  scaling  with  infinite 
zest  an  Adams  or  a  Lafayette,  he  stops  on  the  brink  of  a  preci- 


WHITE  MOUNTAmS.  169 

pice  for  rest  and  to  enjoy  the  view,  and  figures  out  some  prob- 
lem ot  distance  or  height  by  algebraic  formulae,  or  in  sport 
writes  out  a  witticism  like  this  :  — 

"  Let         a  =  transcendentalism, 
b  =  no-faitli-ism, 
c  =  byper-spiiitualism, 
d  =  nihilism. 
Then,  ad=bc." 

Or  when,  on  another  page,  a  table,  "  Height  of  Mountains," 
has  been  disfigured,  he  writes :  "  Impression  on  paper  of  the 
opposite  page.  N.  B.  —  Here  is  an  impression  in  oil  colors,  — 
the  real  oil  color,  derived  from  an  overflowing  lamp,  —  we  may 
call  it  whale-oil  color,  since  whale  is  its  basis,  if  the  salesman 
spoke  true." 

His  passion  for  history  and  familiarity  with  the  historical 
features  of  his  itinerary  find  expression  in  brief  notes  like 
these :  — 

"  Adpetentibus  Nobis  d  Concordia. 

"1.  Concord,  east  of  river.  Turtle  pond,  near  line  of 
Loudon.  Junction  of  Contoocook  with  the  Merrimack  is  the 
island  where  Mrs.  Dustin  made  her  escape  in  1698,  March  15. 
She  had  been  taken  from  Haverhill,  Mass.,  when  her  infant  was 
but  six  days  old. 

"  Benjamin  Thompson  (Count  Rumford)  settled  in  Concord 
in  early  life.     He  was  a  native  of  Woburn." 

Under  Sanbornton  he  writes:  "On  Winnipiseogee,  at  head 
of  Little  Bay,  are  remains  of  an  ancient  fortification,  six  walls, 
one  along  the  river,  and  across  a  point  of  land  into  the  bay ; 
the  others  at  right  angles,  connected  by  a  circular  wall  in  the 
rear  ;  also  on  an  island  in  the  bay.  When  first  settlers  arrived, 
in  1765,  the  walls  were  breast  high,  and  large  oaks  growing  in 
the  enclosure." 

Again   the  composition  of  the  rocks,  the  character  of  the 


170  HO  SEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

grasses,  the  species  of  trees  are  jotted  down,  like  all  the  rest, 
with  that  critical  accuracy  to  which  he  was  bora  and  bred,  and 
which  always  characterized  whatever  he  did,  whether  as  mathe- 
matician, naturalist,  poet,  linguist,  historian,  or  theologian.  The 
pocket  maps  which  he  studied  with  painstaking  care  in  prepa- 
ration for  each  trip,  none  of  his  traveling  companions  ever  had 
so  clearly  in  mind  as  he.  His  knowledge  of  geography  was 
remarkable.  A  traveler  lately  returned  from  Rome  once  met 
him  at  Cornhill,  and  struck  with  Mr.  Ballou's  minute  knowl- 
edge of  its  geography,  said :  "  Doctor,  when  were  you  last  in 
Rome  ?  "  and  was  astounded  to  learn  that  he  had  gathered  his 
information  from  maps  and  books  and  pictures,  and  that  he 
had  in  fact  never  visited  the  Eternal  City. 

For  accurate  description  of  mountain  scenery  there  is  per- 
haps nothing  in  the  language  that  surpasses  the  article  which 
appeared  as  a  review  in  the  Universalist  Quarterly  for  January, 
1846,1  after  his  first  two  visits  to  the  White  Mountains.  It 
stimulated  Thomas  Starr  King,  in  turn,  to  write  his  "  White 
Hills."     The  tide  of  mountain  travel  had  not  then  set  in. 

Said  Hosea  Ballon,  2d,  in  1845:  "I  think  the  only  dwellings 
in  the  long  pass  through  the  mountains  are,  First :  An  old  farm 
hut  with  a  little  clearing  around,  three  or  four  miles  below  Old 
Crawford's,  and  not  far  from  where  the  valley  turns  again  to 
the  north.  Second  :  Old  Crawford's,  a  large  two-story  tavern, 
with  barns,  outbuildings,  etc.,  and  a  considerable  clearing  along 
the  bottom  of  the  valley.  Third:  Five  miles  onwards,  the 
Willey  House.  .  .  .  Fourth :  The  Notch  House,  a  decent-look- 
ing two-story  tavern,  with  outbuildings.  Fifth:  Four  miles 
and  a  half  to  the  north  by  northwest,  Fabyan's  (formerly  Ethan 
A.  Crawford's),  a  large  and  rather  splendid  hotel,  with*  out- 
houses, and  a  large  cleared  farm  on  the  banks  of  the  Ammo- 
noosuck.     Sixth:    Half   a   mile    farther   northwest    Ethan   A. 

1  Pages  113-143. 


MONADNOCK  MOUNTAIN.  171 

Crawford's,  a  two-story  tavern,  built  within  a  few  years,  but 
apparently  not  very  well  kept." 

His  method  of  observation  is  well  illustrated  by  the  follow- 
ing quotation  from  his  notebook  on  the  "  Ascent  of  Monad- 
nock,"  August  16,  1851 :  — 

"  Remark.  Many  years  ago  I  visited  Monadnock.  ...  It  was  in 
the  early  part  of  June  [probably  1838],  on  one  of  the  clearest  days 
I  ever  saw.  We  reached  the  summit  before  noon  I  think,  and  saw 
the  horizon  unshaded  by  a  single  cloud,  and  scarcely  obscured  by 
any  smokiuess.  In  the  extreme  north  there  stood  a  long  range  of 
mountains,  white  as  a  pile  of  clouds.  These,  I  suppose,  were  the 
Frauconia  and  White  mountains  ;  but  as  T  had  never  then  seen  those 
ranges,  I  did  not  fix  their  forms  precisely  in  my  mind  and  cannot  now 
recall  their  particular  appearances. 

"  August  16,  1851.  — Arrived  at  Mr.  Mann's,  at  the  southern  part 
of  the  mountain,  about  one  o'clock  p.m.,  in  company  with  my  brother 
Levi,  of  North  Orange.  .  .  .  Followed  up  the  ravine  to  the  north 
through  the  forest  for  a  mile,  perhaps,  over  a  good  footpath,  quite 
steep,  till  we  came  out  in  sight  of  the  immense  ledge  of  rocks  that 
forms  the  summit  above  us  to  the  north.  Climbed  up  over  and  be- 
tween scattered  rocks,  mixed  with  low  bushes,  and  reached  the  little 
level  plot  of  ground  between  the  highest  eminence  to  the  north  and 
the  lower  spur  of  the  mountain  that  runs  off  south.  This  level  plot 
is  grown  up  with  bushes.  Coming  out  of  them  we  climbed  over  the 
huge  fragments  that  have  fallen  down  from  the  shattered  cone  of 
rocks,  directing  our  course  up  around  towards  the  eastern  side  of 
the  summit ;  one  of  the  wildest  scenes  of  ruin  and  confusion  I  ever 
saw ;  the  vast  piles  of  fragments,  many  of  them  hundreds  of  tons 
in  weight,  lying  under  the  everlasting  cliffs  of  solid  rock.  Climbed 
up  the  eastern  side  and  reached  the  top,  —  all  solid  rocks,  shivered 
and  cracked  in  various  forms. 

"The  top,  and  the  summit  of  the  shoulders  north,  east,  aud  south, 
were  all  rock,  somewhat  broken  on  surface  but  underlaid  with  the 
permanent  ledge.     To  the  west  or  northwest  the  same,  only  the  sur- 


172  HOSEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

face  seemed  more  broken  into  huge  fragments  sticking  up  in  bound- 
less confusion  down  tlie  inclined  plane. 

"The  very  summit  seems,  as  we  approach  it  from  the  south,  to 
be  a  castellated  crown  of  rock  of  %several  rods  in  width  east  and 
west.   .   .   . 

"View  from  the  Top.  1,  North.  The  first  object  that  attracted 
our  eye  in  this  direction  was  Kearsarge  in  Wilmot  and  Warner ;  and 
this  served  as  a  landmark  from  which  to  calculate  the  position  of 
other  objects.   .   .   . 

"  We  could  not  discern  the  Washington  range  as  the  horizon  was 
obscure,  on  account  of  the  clouds  which  nearly  covered  the  sky,  and 
the  atmosphere  was  in  some  parts  vapory.  I  think  that  Washington 
must  have  been  wrapt  in  clouds.  Lafayette  was  dimly  discerned  ; 
and  so  was  the  Sandwich  range.  Washington  must  stand  on  a  line 
a  little  to  the  right  of  Kearsarge.     Moosehillock  was  visible. 

"  Nearer  than  Kearsarge,  and  considerably  to  the  left,  was  Suna- 
pee  Mountain.     Farther  to  the  left,  Granthau  Mountains. 

"  Ascutney  stood  up  in  plain  view.  A  little  to  the  left  of  Ascutney, 
a  distant  heavy  mountain,  with  two  or  three  points,  was  perhaps 
Shrewsbury  Mountain  or  Killington  Peak. 

"  To  the  north  of  west,  and  considerably  to  the  left  of  Killington 
Peak,  was  Stratton  Mountain.  And  behind  that,  and  coming  out 
faintly  at  the  right  edge  of  it,  was  another  more  distinct  mountain, 
perhaps  Monument  Mountain  in  Manchester. 

"About  west  of  us,  we  saw  a  peaked  cone  among  the  mountains 
rather  overtopping  them,  which  may  have  been  Haystack  in  Wil- 
mington. .   .  . 

"  To  the  south  of  west  we  looked  for  Saddleback  or  Graylock  ;  but 
though  there  were  several  roundish  points  overtopping  the  general 
summit  of  the  Green  Mountains,  we  could  not  positively  identify  it. 
The  sun  did  not  shine  on  this  side  of  the  Green  Mountains,  and  we 
could  not  determine  whether  the  highest  points  were  on  the  summit 
or  beyond.  .  .   . 

"Down  the  Connecticut  River  Valley,  saw  Mount  Grace  in  War- 
wick ;    and  farther  to  the  left,  and  much  farther   off,    a   mountain 


SAGUENAY.  173 

notched  on  the  summit,  which  we  thought  to  be  Montague  Mountain. 
Did  not  distinguish  Mount  Tom  and  Holyoke. 

"  Saw  Mount  Tully  and  North  Orange  meeting-house.  Wachu- 
sett,  with  its  round  head,  in  plain  view. 

"  To  the  east,  or  somewhat  north  of  east,  stood  up  the  two  sum- 
mits of  the  Peterborough  Mountains,  both  of  them  round  summits. 
They  are  seen  from  Pine  Hill  in  Medford,  bearing  to  the  north  of 
Monadnoek.   .   .   . 

"  Northeast  the  two  round  summits  in  New  Boston  or  Goffstown 
are  seen.  .   .   . 

"  A  line  drawn  from  Ascutney  to  Wachusett  would  pass  a  very 
little  to  the  north  of  the  top  of  Monadnoek,  these  three  mountains 
standing  almost  in  range." 

In  1847  Dr.  Ballon  prepared,  with  accurate  information,  to 
visit  Moosehead  Lake,  but  we  are  not  sure  that  he  ever  visited 
northern  Maine. 

In  a  humorous  mood  Dr.  Ballon  dashed   off  the   following , 
letter  and  mailed  it  to  his  publisher,  "  A.  Tompkins,  38  Corn- 
hill,  Boston,  Mass.,"  namely  :  — 

Medford,  June  29,  1852. 

Brother  Tompkins,  —  I  think  I  must  go  to  the  Saguenay,  eome 
what  may  afterward.  As  the  poets  say.  It  is  a  chance  not  to  be 
sneezed  at ;  or,  as  the  Psalmist  expresses  it,  A  bird  in  hand  is  worth 
two  in  the  bush;  or,  as  the  Latins  have  it,  Carpe  diem,  — hoc  est, 
Fugit  irreparabile  tempus,  festinanter  advenit  senectus,  nunc  sola 
opportunitas,  dolores  quinquaginta  non  spernendi  sunt  si  speres 
unquam  Saguenay  videre  in  hac  vita  mortali.  Quare,  O  Tompkins, 
si  fata  sinent,  me  videbis,  proximo  Die  Martis,  paratum  ad  iter. 
Multse  gratiae  donantibus  vel  donanti. 

Pax  et  barba  magnifica  Ursae  Majori, 

H.  BALLOU,  2d. 

Mr.  Tompkins  did  not  know  a  word  of  Latin  ;  the  writer  no 
doubt  anticipated  that  he  would  call  upon  their  mutual  friend, 


174  HO  SEA  BALLOU  2d,   D.D. 

Starr  King,  then  a  young  man  twenty-eight  years  old,  to  trans- 
late it  for  him.  Together  they  went  to  Montreal,  Quebec, 
Montmorenci,  and  Saguenay  !  A  memorable  trip  !  Dr.  Ballou 
commemorated  it  by  the  following  humorous  correspondence 
and  descriptive  verses  [revised  1860]  :  — 

A  DESCRIPTIVE  POEM. 

BY    A.    TOMPKINS,    U.M. 

ADVERTISEMENT. 

For  having  originated  this,  Mr.  Tompkins  was  fined  ten  dollars ; 
which  will  appear  very  moderate,  when  we  consider  that  it  makes 
the  poem  a  fine-one,  and  him  a  fine-poet ;  as  neither  he,  nor  it, 
could  otherwise  have  been. 

FROM  CACOUNA  TO  TADOUSAC. 

Three  o'clock  by  the  stars  !  and  't  is  time  to  weigh  ; 

O'er  th'  expanse  of  St.  Lawrence  't  is  break  of  day ! 

Yet  the  darkness  and  light  undivided  lie 

On  the  waves,  and  above  in  the  ragged  sky ; 

While  the  chill  breeze  of  dawn  comes  with  flickering  scud. 

As  we  loose  from  Cacouna  to  cross  the  flood. 

We  are  leaving  Cacouna  all  hushed  in  night ; 
Now  we  pass  her  dark  islands  upon  our  right ; 
And  the  streamers  of  mist  by  our  prow  flit  past, 
Or,  like  spectres,  stalk  round  on  the  watery  waste  ; 
While  the  broadening  northeast  sends  the  dawn  on  high 
Mid  the  night-clouds  that  patch  yonder  whitening  sky. 

Far  amidst  the  dim  flood !  lo,  yon  fiery  beam. 

That  has  peered  through  the  dusk,  —  how  it  leaps  in  flame  ! 

And  is  flashing  out  wan  from  its  rock  in  the  deep, 

Out  against  the  pale  morning,  as  past  we  sweep  ; 

And  wc  sweep  on  amain  into  mutfling  cloud. 

That  infolds  us  for  leagues  in  its  thick,  chill  shroud. 


EUROPE.  175 

But  huzzah !  for  at  length  we  have  broken  through, 
And  the  morning  shines  bright  from  the  heavens  all  blue. 
There  the  mountains,  pine-clad,  skirt  the  wild  north  shore  ; 
And,  among  them,  the  jaws  of  the  Saguenay  tower 
Over  lone  Tadousac,  and  the  solitudes 
Where  St.  Lawrence  and  Saguenay  join  their  floods. 

In  the  leather-covered  pocket  notebook,  with  clasp,  which 
tells  the  story  of  his  European  trip.^  I  find  the  following  initial 
entry :  "  May  9,  1854.  On  board  the  packet  Star  of  Empire, 
at  about  10  a.m.  Messrs.  Tompkins,  Maxham,  and  Curtis 
left  the  packet  below  Boston  Light,  about  one  half  after  one 
P.M.  and  returned  to  the  city  by  the  tow-steamboat." 

Twenty-two  days  pass,  and  he  writes  in  pencil  the  following 
amusing  description  of  the  passage  :  — 

Ship  Star  of  Empire,  Lat.  50°  30',  Long.  30°,  June  1,  1854. 

Dear  Tompkins,  —  Having  taken  my  walk  this  evening,  and  done 
up  ail  the  chores,  and  having  nothing  else  to  do  till  bedtime,  I  mav 
as  well  occupy  an  hour  in  writing  a  note  as  a  continuation  of  some 
former  communications  to  you.  Not  that  I  can  put  it  in  Latin,  for 
there  is  no  Latin  dictionary  on  board ;  nor  can  I  favor  you  with  a 
Cacouna  strain,  for  my  Muse  is  a  Land  Muse,  and  does  not  go  to 
sea,  being  rather  queezy  at  the  stomach  and  easily  affected  by  any 
swell  of  the  ocean.  Ah,  Tompkins,  were  you  ever  seasick?  What 
a  delightful  sensation  !  head  all  dizzy,  ship  and  ocean  all  swaying 
about,  eyes  incapable  of  seein^  straight,  and  stomach  ready  to  turn 
inside  out !  Very  comfortable,  truly ;  at  least  I  so  imagine,  from  a 
slight  affection  of  the  kind  which  I  experienced  for  a  day  or  two  in 
the  beginning  of  our  passage.   .   .   . 

But,  aside  from  seasickness,  is  not  life  at  sea  a  very  pleasant 
life  ?  Nothing  but  the  same  sheet  of  water  to  gaze  upon  for  three 
weeks  and  more  ;  nothing  that  one  can  do,  except  to  eat,  sleep,  and 

»B.  B.  Mussey,  the  publisher  of  Dr.  Ballou's  hymu  book  and  Sismoudi's  "History  of 
tiie  Crusades  against  the  Albigenses,"  bore  the  expense  of  the  trip  ($600  or  $700),  as  he 
had  done  for  Chapin  a  few  years  before.  No  doubt  he  already  had  "value  received." 
Dr.  Ballou  also  had  charge  of  Mr.  Mussey's  son  Frank  on  the  trip. 


176  HO  SEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

read  novels,  varied  perhaps  now  and  then  by  a  little  exercise  in  tnat 
peculiar  rule  of  arithmetic,  entitled  "Casting  up  Accounts."  I 
have  read  some  less  than  fifty  novels,  —  all  at  any  rate  which  are  on 
board,  —  "Vanity  Fair,"  "Modern  Flirtations,"  several  of  the 
Pamphlet  Novelettes,  etc.  Besides  this  meritorious  reading,  I  have 
followed  exactly  the  course  of  life  described  by  Teufelsdrockh  in  his 
Latin  Epitaph,  which  King  will  find,  and  translate,  for  you  in  Sartor 
Eesartus.  Please  remember,  and  ask  him  about  said  Epitaph  ;  for 
it  is  the  most  pathetic,  as  well  as  the  truest  one,  that  was  probably 
ever  written.  I  say,  I  follow  the  very  sort  of  life  therein  described, 
bating  the  shooting  of  partridges,  ^'' plumho." 

"Well,  here  we  are  pawing  about  still  in  the  middle  of  the  Atlantic, 
1,000  miles  from  Liverpool,  the  twenty-third  day  of  our  passage, 
with  a  head  wind,  against  which  we  have  been  tacking  for  the  last 
sixteen  or  seventeen  days,  except  when  we  have  been  becalmed. 
Pretty  dull  work,  though  we  have  got  used  to  it,  and  don't  mind  it 
so  much  as  at  first.  And  then  'Ahr-cop  rouses  us  every  morning 
with  the  cheering  note  he  gave  us  in  your  oflSce  the  day  before  we 
sailed.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  have  the  representative  of  so  distin- 
guished a  man  on  board  with  us,  especially  as  we  both  look  forward 
to  the  time  when  he  shall  entertain  us  with  the  substance  instead  of 
the  sound. 

Five  and  a  half  months  later,  November  18,  1854,  on  Dr. 
Ballou's  return  to  Medford,  he  wrote  to  his  very  dear  brother 
Levi :  — 

"  Well,  sir,  I've  been  to  Europe.  ...  I  enjoyed  the  sight-seeing 
much  ;  I  had  opportunities  to  realize  many  scenes  that  had  dwelt  in 
my  imagination  from  childhood,  but  which  I  had  as  little  thought  of 
ever  seeing,  as  I  now  have  of  ever  seeing  the  chasms,  glens,  and 
fields  in  the  moon. 

"Our  passage  out,  in  the  sailing  packet,  was  very  long,  —  five 
weeks  with  a  day,  —  and  it  trenched  considerably  upon  our  arrange- 
ments for  traveling  in  Europe.  But  our  company  was  very  agree- 
able, and  we  spent  the  time  on  the  whole  quite   pleasantly ;   had 


EUROPE.  177 

only  a  slight  touch  of  seasickness ;  had  two  storms  to  vary  the 
scene  ;  the  most  of  the  passage,  pleasant  weather,  sometimes  a  dead 
calm,  sometimes  a  slight  breath  of  air,  the  face  of  the  ocean  as 
smooth  as  glass  ;  many  moonshine  nights  ;  two  or  three  nights  the 
face  of  the  sea  all  around  to  the  horizon  covered  with  sheets  of 
flame,  and  the  wake  of  the  vessel  a  long  track  of  fire,  from  the 
phosphoric  substances  that  abound  in  certain  parts  of  the  ocean.  A 
storm  at  sea  is  a  stirring  scene  when  there  is  no  danger ;  the  ship 
drives  like  mad,  rearing  her  head  halfway  up  to  the  zenith,  and 
then  plunging  as  if  she  would  go  under;  all  her  noble  array  of 
masts,  shrouds,  and  sails  rocking  with  her,  and  the  wind  piping  its 
thunder  tones  through  her  rigging,  while  the  surges  like  little  hills 
chase  her,  roll  up  as  if  they  would  come  headlong  upon  her  deck, 
but  generally  miss  their  aim.  Going  up  the  channel  between  Ireland 
and  England,  we  had  what  the  captain  allowed  was  a  gale,  though  a 
moderate  one,  and  we  dashed  about  for  a  da}^  near  the  coast  of 
Wales,  part  of  the  time  in  Caernarvon  Bay,  unknowing  precisely 
where  we  were  ;  for  the  land  was  covered  with  clouds,  through  which 
we  now  and  then  saw  a  promontory  or  mountain  half  revealed. 

"We  landed  at  Liverpool  about  the  fourteenth  of  June.  The  first 
thing  that  struck  me,  as  we  came  near  the  shore,  was  the  deep,  lively 
green  of  all  the  Euglish  fields  and  foliage.  I  have  seen  nothing  in 
our  country  to  compare  with  it,  except  in  some  very  highly  cultivated 
spots  after  a  shower  in  the  beginning  of  summer.  But  I  must  not 
attempt  to  describe,  for  that  would  require  a  book  instead  of  a  sheet 
of  paper. 

"  At  Liverpool,  called  on  Dr.  Thorn,  a  social  and  kind  man.  .  .  . 
Left  Liverpool  I  think  on  the  sixteenth,  went  down  about  thirty 
miles  south  to  the  ancient  city  of  Chester  —  the  first  old  place  I 
ever  saw,  for  Liverpool  is  of  recent  growth.  After  spending  some 
hours  in  visiting  the  antiquities  of  Chester,  proceeded  still  south 
about  five  miles  to  Eaton  Hall,  the  country  seat  of  the  Marquis 
of  Westminster,  where  we  saw  the  rooms,  princely  furniture,  gardens, 
etc.  It  is  in  the  midst  of  a  park  about  nine  miles  square.  Back 
to  Chester ;  took  railroad  west  through  North  Wales,  green,  dark, 


178  HOSE  A  BALLOU,  2d.  D.D. 

glowing  green  all  around  ;  passed  the  river  Dee,  crossed  the  mouth 
of  the  celebrated  valley  of  Cloud  (pronounced  Clood),  up  which 
we  snatched  a  view  to  its  head  among  the  mountains  eight  or 
ten  miles  off  south ;  reached  old  perished  Conway,  where  we  spent 
an  hour  and  a  half  exploring  the  ruins  of  its  immense  castle,  six 
hundred  years  old  ;  on,  again,  in  the  cars,  through  the  bold  heads  of 
Penmanmaur,  that  are  pierced  by  tunnels  ;  and  arrived  at  old  Bangor 
about  sunset.  This  is  the  first  day's  work.  In  the  evening,  traversed 
the  old  town  which  lies  deep  in  a  narrow  valley  with  bold  cliffs  over- 
hanging it  at  the  east ;  heard  the  Welsh  gutturals  on  every  side, 
though  most  of  the  people  can  speak  English  also  ;  and  saw  the 
"Welsh  dress,  —  beautiful  young  women  wearing  steeple-crowned 
hats  and  looking  well  in  them  too ;  shriveled,  dried-up  old  women 
wearing  all  kinds  of  men's  hats,  and  driving  jackasses  as  dried  up 
as  themselves.  Next  morning,  took  a  ride  out  four  miles  to  the  great 
suspension-bridge  over  the  Menai  Straits,  and  a  mile  farther  to  the 
great  Tubular  Bridge  through  which  the  railroad  passes  over  the 
straits  ;  then  some  nine  or  ten  miles  south  to  Caernarvon  ;  after 
examining  its  great  castle,  where  the  first  Prince  of  Wales  was  born, 
six  hundred  years  ago,  and  seeing  Snowdon  Mountains,  about  ten 
miles  off  southeast  and  east,  returned  to  Bangor,  took  the  cars, 
passed  through  the  Tubular  Bridge  on  to  the  island  of  Anglesea, 
which  we  crossed  to  Holyhead  at  the  west  point ;  there  took  steamer 
to  Kingston,  seven  miles  south  of  Dublin,  and  arrived  at  the  capital 
of  Ireland  about  midnight.  This  is  the  second  day's  work.  Stayed 
in  Dublin  one  and  one  half  days  ;  went  into  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral, 
where  Dean  Swift  used  to  officiate  ;  saw  his  monument ;  attended 
Episcopal  service  Sunday  forenoon  at  Christ  Church,  and  also  at 
the  Chapel  of  the  University  ;  heard  the  organ  pray,  with  a  mess  of 
men  and  boys  to  help  it;  'Bless  the  (haw  —  aw  —  haw)  Lord,  O 
my  soul  (haw  —  aw  —  haw),'  was  the  way  one  of  them  performed, 
he  being  sleepy  and  gapish,  having  been  out  late  the  night  before  on 
a  spree.  Afternoon,  Sunday,  took  the  cars  and  went  north  through 
the  richest  fields  of  vegetation  I  ever  saw,  —  beautiful  lawns  and 
groves  in  the  distance,  all  like  a  park,  for  some  forty  miles  to  the 


EUROPE.  179 

Boyne  River,  which  we  crossed  at  Drogheda,  about  two  miles  east  of 
the  scene  of  the  battle  of  the  Boyne.  Onwards,  still  north  in  a  still 
beautiful  country,  passed  the  head  of  Carlingford  Bay  and  through 
the  Carlingford  Mountains  to  Belfast.  Next  morning,  partly  by 
rail  and  partly  by  stage  and  partly  by  a  nondescript  Irish  sort  of  a 
one-horse  wagon,  went  through  Ballamena,  Ballamoney,  in  sight  of 
Lough  Neagh,  to  Bushmill  and  the  Giant's  Causeway  at  the  north 
end  of  Ireland ;  here  we  spent  about  three  hours  in  surveying  this 
wonderful  coast,  taking  a  boat  and  passing  around  its  promontories, 
into  its  caverns,  and  walking  over  the  Causeway  itself.  Towards 
night  hired  one  of  the  aforesaid  nondescript  wagons  and  driver  and 
kept  down  near  the  northeast  coast  to  Ballycastle.  Next  morning, 
still  along  in  sight  of  this  remarkable  coast,  and  in  sight  of  some  of 
the  Scottish  islands  far  off  to  the  north,  we  proceeded  to  Larne  and 
thence  to  Belfast  again,  where  we  arrived  about  eight  in  the  evening, 
in  season  to  take  the  steamer  for  Scotland.  Next  moi'ning,  when  I 
came  on  deck,  we  had  passed  the  Isle  of  Arran  (which  I  regretted, 
as  I  intended  to  see  it),  and  had  entered  the  Clyde,  with  its  rich 
green  fields  on  either  hand,  and  its  mountains  pastured  to  the  very 
top  in  the  background.  Soon  we  passed  Greenock ;  soon,  Dumbar- 
ton, with  its  celebrated  castle  on  a  mountain  rock  that  towers  up  out 
of  the  river,  and  at  about  eight  in  the  morning  reached  Glasgow  —  a 
vast  city,  the  commercial  emporium  of  Scotland.  Here  spent  this 
and  the  next  day ;  went  into  the  old  cathedral,  leaned  against  the 
pillar  in  the  crypt  against  which  Scott  makes  Osbaldistone  lean  in 
'  Rob  Roy.'  Friday  morn  (I  think,  or  else  Thursday  morn)  took 
steamer  down  the  river  to  Dumbarton,  then  up  the  Leven  water  to 
Loch  Lomond  (wild  and  fantastic,  and  beautiful  beyond  my  anticipa- 
tions), passed  by  Ben  Lomond,  landed  at  Inversnaid,  went  over  the 
mountain  moor  to  Loch  Katrine,  which  we  ci'ossed  lengthwise  in  a 
miniature  steamer,  with  Ben  Venue,  Ben  Ledi,  Ben  A'an,  and  other 
scenes  of  the  '  Lady  of  the  Lake '  in  full  view,  passed  '  Ellen's  Isle  ' ; 
landed  at  east  end  of  lake  in  the  mouth  of  the  Trosachs,  through 
which  we  rode  and  stopped  for  the  night  at  the  eastern  end  of  the 
pass  on  the  bank  of  Loch  Achray.     It  is  a  wild  pass,  but  we  have 


180  HOSE  A  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

many  wilder  in  our  own  country.  Next  morning  went  on,  and  got 
out  of  the  Grampian  Mountains  a  little  before  we  reached  Callander, 
on  the  banks,  I  think,  of  the  Teith  Eiver.  From  Callander  to  Stir- 
ling, where  we  went  through  the  lofty  castle  that  overlooks  all  the 
beautiful  country  around,  and  commands  a  view  of  the  Grampian 
and  Ochil  mountains.  One  mile  south  from  Stirling  is  the  village  of 
St.  Ninians,  where  I  called  on  a  cousin  of  Father  Balfour,  who  told 
me  the  story  of  his  early  life,  and  showed  me  the  house  in  which  he 
was  born  and  brought  up.  It  appears  that  what  I  have  long  sus- 
pected was  true,  that  Father  Balfour  never  went  to  the  University  of 
Edinburgh.  He  studied  a  year  at  a  Mr.  Erving's,  a  minister  of 
Glasgow,  in  preparation  for  the  ministry,  and  then  went  out  to 
preach  under  the  patronage  of  the  Haldanes.  From  St.  Ninians  it 
is  only  a  mile  or  less  to  the  field  of  Bannockburn.  I  stood  on  the 
spot  where  Bruce's  standard  was  fixed  during  the  battle.  Returned 
to  Stirling  and  took  railroad  to  Edinburgh,  where  we  arrived  in  after- 
noon. Called  on  Robert  Chambers,  the  author  and  publisher,  with 
a  letter  from  Brother  Laurie.  Went  over  the  Old  Town,  Holyrood 
Palace,  out  to  St.  Leonard's,  under  Salisbury  crags.  Visited  the 
castle  on  its  high  rock  like  that  of  Stirling.  Sunday  morning  break- 
fasted with  Robert  Chambers,  and  was  conducted  by  his  daughter 
to  the  church  of  Dr.  Candlish,  the  most  noted  Presbyterian  preacher 
of  Edinburgh, — a  very  earnest  preacher  without  rant,  an  earnest 
and  strong-minded  man.  Went  over  the  New  Town,  a  very  magnif- 
icent city.  Visited  Scott's  monument  (indeed  our  hotel  was  near 
and  in  full  view  of  it),  Burns'  and  Play  fair's  and  Nelson's  monu- 
ments on  Carlton  Hill,  etc.  Edinburgh  is  the  British  Athens.  One 
fancies  that  there  is  a  peculiar  literary  air  about  it.  The  waters  of 
the  Forth,  the  green  country  to  the  west  and  south,  Arthur's  Seat 
towering  up  over  the  Salisbury  crags  at  the  southeast,  and  the  ven- 
erable, majestic  castle  heaving  up  at  the  southwest  corner  of  the  Old 
Town,  form  a  panorama  around  the  city  such  as  few  places  can 
boast.  But  I  must  shorten  my  tether,  or  write  a  book  instead  of  a 
letter. 

"  From  Edinburgh,  southerly,  to  Melrose  Abbey,  and  Abbotsford 


HOSEA  BALLOU,  2o. 
[From  a  Ckayox  Poimhait  by  Giddixgs  IIydk  IJallou.] 


EVBOPE.  181 

(Sir  "Walter  Scott's  seat)  on  the  Tweed.  Saw  his  study,  library,  aud 
several  rooms  as  he  left  them,  and  the  collection  of  old  armor 
and  other  curiosities  he  had  gathered.  Then  still  south  aud  down 
through  the  Cheviot  Hills  (passing  some  miles  to  the  west  of  Jedburgh, 
Thompson's  native  place),  to  the  English  border  at  the  Solway,  and 
to  Carlyle,  the  first  city  on  the  English  side.  Thence  south  to  Penrith  ; 
then  southwest  to  the  Cumberland  Lakes,  where  I  saw  Southey's 
and  Wordsworth's  dwellings,  the  cataract  of  Lodore,  and  the  Skiddaw 
and  Helvellyn  Mountains.  Derwentwater,  Windermere,  Grasmeer, 
etc.,  the  houses  where  Coleridge  and  Wilson  died.  Then  to  Kendall, 
Lancaster,  Manchester,  Birmingham,  Warwick  Castle,  Stratford-on- 
Avon,  .  .  .  Oxford  and  its  ancient  University,  Reading  aud  London. 
Stayed  in  and  about  London  eleven  days  ;  visited  British  Museum 
where  the  monuments  of  Nineveh  are  kept ;  National  Institute  and 
Gallery  of  Paintings,  Crystal  Palace,  Westminster  Abbey,  St.  Paul's  ; 
went  out  to  Hampton  Court ;  to  Twickenham  and  saw  Pope's  villa  ; 
to  Richmond  Hill,  justly  noted  for  its  ravishing  prospect  (see  Thomp- 
son's '  Seasons  ') ,  and  rode  out  to  Chelsea  and  called  on  Carlyle  ;  went 
into  House  of  Lords  and  heard  some  of  the  debates  ;  plain-spoken 
and  plain-dressed  men,  talked  and  looked  like  first-rate  farmers  or  men 
of  business  ;  saw  the  splendid  carriages  of  the  nobility  and  gentry 
driving  around  Hyde  Park,  etc.  London  is  a  world  of  itself  ;  seems 
without  bounds  ;  smoky,  grimy,  weather  and  fog  stained,  but  over- 
whelming in  its  magnitude ;  a  river  of  human  life  eternally  pouring 
through  its  principal  streets. 

"From  London,  by  steamer,  down  the  Thames,  and  across  the 
Channel  to  Ostend  in  Belgium.  Then  to  Bruges,  Ghent,  Malines, 
Brussels,  field  of  Waterloo,  back  to  Brussels  and  Malines,  on  to 
Antwerp  ;  over  the  Scheldt  into  Holland  ;  to  Breda,  Dort  (where 
the  famous  Synod  was  held),  to  Rotterdam,  Delft  (where  the  Delft 
ware  is  made),  to  the  Hague,  Leyden,  to  Haarlem  (where  we  heard 
the  great  organ  for  an  hour) ,  Amsterdam  ;  then  past  Utrecht  to 
Arnhem,  where  we  took  steamer  on  the  Rhine  ;  went  up  to  Diisseldorf, 
where  we  stopped  a  day  to  see  the  Galleries  of  Paintings ;  still  up 
the  Rhine  to  Cologne,  where  we  visited  the  great  cathedral  that  has 


182  HOSE  A  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

been  building  six  hundred  years, —  one  hundred  and  ninety  feet  from 
floor  to  ceiling, —  a  mountain  of  architecture  that  is  seen  miles  before 
the  city  is  visible  ;  up  the  Rhine  to  Bonn,  to  Coblentz,  to  Mayence  ; 
then  off  east  to  Frankfort-on-Main  ;  northeast  to  Giessen,  and  called 
on  Dr.  Kredner ;  back  to  Frankfort ;  south  to  Heidelberg,  and  called 
on  Professor  Umbreit  of  the  University  there  ;  south  to  Strasburg  on 
the  Rhine  ;  southeast  to  Freiburg  ;  southwest  to  Basle  on  the  Rhine, 
where  we  finally  left  the  river  and  steered  for  Zurich  in  Switzerland. 
First  view  of  the  Alps  from  a  hill  halfwaj'  between  Basle  and  Ziirich, 
—  they  were  the  Alps  in  the  eastern  part  of  Switzerland.  Saw  them 
very  plainly  from  Zurich.  From  Zurich  over  the  Albis  to  Lake  Zug  ; 
at  east  end  of  which,  saw  the  site  of  old  Goldau,  covered  for  miles 
around  by  the  fall  of  a  mountain  ;  ascended  the  Rhigi ;  crossed  the 
Lake  of  Lucerne  lengthwise,  passing  the  stirring  scenes  in  the  story 
of  Tell,  with  the  mountains  springing  up  almost  perpendicular  all 
around,  and  topped  with  glaciers  ;  went  to  Lucerne  ;  then  to  Stan- 
stad,  Lungern,  over  the  Brunig  down  into  the  valley  of  Meiringen ; 
up  along  the  glaciers  of  the  "Wetterhorn,  over  the  Scheideck  into  the 
valley  of  Grindelwald  ;  to  Interlachen  between  the  Lakes  of  Thun 
and  Brienz  ;  up  the  valley  of  Lauterbrunnen  on  to  the  "Wengern  Alp, 
immediately  under  the  Jungfrau  ;  back  to  Interlachen  ;  across  the 
Lake  of  Thun,  and  on  to  Berne  ;  from  Berne,  by  the  lake  and  battle 
ground  of  Morat,  through  Avenches,  to  Lausanne  on  the  Lake  of 
Geneva.  Put  up  at  Lausanne,  in  the  Hotel  de  Gibbon,  on  part  of 
the  grounds  occupied  by  Gibbon's  garden  where  he  finished  '  The 
Decline  and  Fall.'  One  of  the  most  interesting  views  over  the  lake 
and  mountains  beyond,  and  the  country  on  the  western  shore,  that 
imagination  can  picture  !  Went  along  the  west  and  north  shore  of 
the  lake,  through  Vevay,  Clarens,  by  the  Castle  of  Chillon  (which  we 
explored),  to  Villeneuve,  at  the  northeast  end  of  the  lake,  where  the 
Upper  Rhone  enters  it.  Then  by  steamer  across  the  lake  lengthwise 
to  Geneva  at  the  southwest  end.  I  have  not  room  to  speak  of  the 
air  of  enchantment  that  hangs  over  all  this  region.  Attended  service 
in  the  church  where  Calvin  used  to  preach  ;  saw  the  house  where  he 
lived ;  his  manuscripts  in  the  library,  etc.  ;  could  not  find  out  where 


EUROPE.  183 

the  place  is  in  which  he  burned  Servetus.  Started  for  Chamouny  ;  at 
Cluse,  halfway  between  Greneva  and  Chamouny,  entered  the  narrow 
part  of  the  valley  of  the  Arve,  a  stupendous  defile  of  several  hours' 
ride,  the  sides  loftier  and  more  imposing  than  even  that  of  Lauter- 
bruunen.  Caught  first  view  of  Mont  Blanc  about  twelve  miles  off, 
at  St.  Martins  or  Salenche  ;  he  was  covered  with  clouds  while  we 
were  on  the  Lake  of  Geneva,  or  we  should  have  seen  him  from  thence, 
as  we  afterwards  did  see  him.  After  some  steep  ascents  and 
descents,  partly  on  foot,  partly  in  a  car-a-hanc^  arrived  in  Chamouny 
about  sunset ;  passed  the  lower  end  of  the  great  Glacier  des  Bossons, 
and  saw  the  rose  tint  fade  away  on  the  head  of  Mont  Blanc.  Stayed 
in  Chamouny  two  days  ;  ascended  the  Montanvert,  went  on  to  the 
Mer  de  Glace  and  saw  the  structure  of  the  glaciers ;  passed  Sunday 
afternoon  by  myself  up  high  on  the  side  of  the  Br^vent,  which  fronts 
Mont  Blanc,  and  could  see  almost  every  rod  in  the  course  pursued 
by  those  who  ascend  to  the  summit ;  next  day  rode  to  the  top  of  the 
Fleg^re,  whence  my  view  of  Mont  Blanc,  in  my  parlor,  was  taken. 
The  evening  of  our  arrival  in  Chamouny,  an  English  gentleman 
arrived  there  on  his  descent  from  the  summit ;  and  on  Monday 
another  Englishman  returned  from  the  top.  Since  then,  a  French 
lady  had  made  the  ascent ;  and,  a  brother  of  our  brother  Talbot  has 
also  performed  the  feat,  and,  what  is  remarkable,  in  less  time  than  it 
had  ever  been  performed  before.  All  the  time  we  were  in  Chamouny, 
the  whole  range  of  mountains  stood  out  clear  both  by  day  and  by 
night.  Left  Chamouny,  and  went  over  the  dizzy  pass  of  T6te  Noire, 
north,  and  over  the  Foiclaz  into  the  valley  of  the  Upper  Rhone,  at 
Martigny  ;  from  the  top  of  the  Forclaz  saw  the  great  road  running 
up  the  deep  valley,  as  straight  as  a  line  could  be  drawn,  for  ten  miles. 
From  Martigny,  up  the  valley,  on  the  aforesaid  road,  and  onward, 
till  we  reached  Brieg,  early  next  day.  Here  the  great  Simplon  Road 
begins.  Took  an  open  one-horse  wagon ;  swept  up,  for  several 
hours,  around  the  brink  of  the  tremendous  gulf  of  the  Saltine  and 
the  Ganter,  passed  through  one  or  two  galleries  to  shield  from  the 
avalanches,  saw  the  heights  above  beginning  to  be  spotted  with 
glaciers,  gained  the  summit  of  the  pass,  and  looked  back  on  the  whole 


184  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

range  of  Bernese  Alps,  over  on  the  north  side  of  the  Rhone  valley, 
all  covered  with  snow  —  the  Jungfrau,  the  Monch,  Eigher,  Wetterhorn, 
Finster-Aarhorn,  etc.  From  the  summit  of  the  pass  we  descended 
through  similar  scenes,  with  glaciers  overhead,  past  the  village  of 
Simplon,  throngh  tlie  great  gallery  or  Gondo,  through  other  galleries, 
along  the  brink  of  terrific  chasms,  and  entered  the  valley  of  Doveria, 
which  beats  even  the  valley  of  the  Arve.  That  night  we  reached 
Domo  d'Ossola  in  Italy,  —  weather  as  hot  as  blazes-  We  had  been 
told,  weeks  before,  that  it  would  not  be  advisable  to  go  below  Flor- 
ence till  at  least  the  middle  of  Septembei' ;  and  as  we  had  not  time, 
after  that  date,  to  go  to  Rome  and  Naples,  and  be  back  in  season 
for  the  middle-of-October  steamer  at  Liverpool,  we  had  concluded 
to  give  up  the  Italian  tour.  So  we  turned  back  next  morning  from 
Domo  d'Ossola,  recrossed  the  Simplon,  rode  all  night  down  the  valley 
of  the  Rhone,  and  took  steamer  the  following  morning  at  Villeueuve 
for  Geneva,  where  we  arrived  a  little  after  noon.  Rode  out  some 
ten  miles  to  Ferney,  where  Voltaire  used  to  live  ;  we  had  already 
been  at  Coppet,  on  the  west  side  of  the  lake,  where  Necker  and  his 
daughter,  Madame  de  Stael,  lived.  Left  Geneva  in  the  diligence,  or 
stage,  through  the  passes  of  the  Jura  range,  keeping  near  the  Rhone, 
on  our  way  to  Lyons  in  France,  —  a  long  day's  ride  of  about  one 
hundred  miles,  through  suffocating  clouds  of  dust  that  drove  us 
almost  to  desperation.  We  should  have  got  out,  but  our  baggage 
was  booked  for  Lyons,  and  could  not  be  claimed  short  of  that  city. 
Stayed  in  Lyons  two  days  ;  went  up  to  the  heights,  where  the  old 
Roman  city  stood,  and  into  the  underground  church  where  St. 
Irenaeus  (a.d.  180)  preached  ;  saw  Mont  Blanc  staining  the  sky, 
more  than  one  hundred  miles  off,  air  line,  and  the  mountains  of 
Dauphiny  in  the  southeast  horizon,  etc.,  traced  out  the  courses  of  the 
Rhone  and  of  the  Saone  from  the  point  where  they  meet ;  went  out 
into  the  new  part  of  the  city,  where  the  inhabitants  were  butchered, 
or  rather  shot  down,  in  the  old  French  Revolution,  etc.  From  Lyons, 
up  the  Saone  to  Macon,  Chalons-sur-Saone,  to  Dijon,  once  the  capi- 
tal of  the  old  kingdom  of  Burgundy,  where  Charles  the  Bold  held 
his  court,  —  a  rich  antique  city,  with  old  decayed  palaces,  now  put 


EUBOPE.  185 

to  better  use  ;  a  rolling  plain,  watered  with  rivers,  and  varied  by 
great  heavy  swells,  all  planted  with  vines,  or  cultivated  in  grain 
fields,  forms  the  bright  prospect  around.  From  Dijon  to  Paris  north- 
west, nearly  a  day's  ride  on  the  railroad,  through  a  country  of  plains 
and  gently  swelling  hills.  Passed  through  Fontainebleau,  where 
Bonaparte  abdicated  before  he  went  to  Elba  ;  then  through  Melun  ; 
and  soon  afterwards  reached  Paris.  Taking  a  cab  at  the  depot,  I 
had  not  ridden  far  through  the  streets  when  I  saw  the  name  Ballue 
on  a  sign.  I  afterwards  made  acquaintance  with  the  proprietor  and 
with  another  family  in  Paris  of  the  same  name,  but  could  not  ascer- 
tain whether  we  were  of  kin.  One  of  them  promised  to  write  me  at 
Medford.  Stayed  in  Paris  five  days,  including  one  day  at  Versailles 
and  its  unrivaled  gardens,  of  which  it  would  be  impossible  in  one 
sheet  to  give  any  adequate  idea.  Paris  itself  is  distinguished  for 
tasteful  magnificence  and  imposing  elegance  above  every  other  city 
I  have  seen  —  far  above.  I  thought  beforehand  that  I  should  not 
like  it ;  but  I  did  admire  it,  excessively  perhaps.  Still,  I  would  not 
like  to  live  in  it ;  there  is  no  home  in  it,  as  there  is  in  London,  — 
which  also  I  thought  beforehand  that  I  should  not  like,  but  which  I 
did  like  right  well,  in  spite  of  its  everlasting  smoke,  and  frequent 
fogs,  and  eternal  thunder.  To  return  to  Paris,  however,  it  seems  to 
me  like  a  dream  of  some  enchanted  land,  when  I  call  up  the  range  of 
grounds  and  buildings  from  the  Louvre  and  Tuileries  up  to  the  Arch 
of  Triumph.  I  will  be  bold  to  say  there  is  nothing  to  be  compared 
with  it  on  the  face  of  the  globe.  The  remembrance  of  the  evenings 
in  which  I  walked  iu  the  Place  de  la  Concorde  (which  stands  in  the 
middle  of  the  range  just  mentioned)  haunts  me  with  its  strange 
magnificence  and  beauty.  And  yet  this  very  Place  de  la  Concorde 
was  the  scene  of  the  guillotines  in  the  old  French  Revolution ;  it  is 
where  Louis  XVI  and  Antoinette  suffered  !  .  .  .  I  visited  the  place 
occupied  by  the  old  Bastille  ;  the  Champs  de  Mars  ;  the  spot  where 
the  Temple  stood  in  which  the  family  of  Louis  XVI  was  confined  ; 
the  old  Palais  Royale  ;  Palais  de  Luxembourg  and  its  gardens ;  the 
Observatory  ;  the  Artesian  Well ;  ascended  the  dome  of  the  Pantheon, 
whence  is  a  view  of  about  all  the  city ;  the  Hotel  de  Ville  ;  the  Fau- 


186  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

bourg  St.  Antoine  and  St.  Houore ;  Montmartre  ;  the  Church  of  St. 
Germain  I'Auxerrois,  whence  the  tocsin  sounded  both  for  the  mas- 
sacre of  St.  Bartholomew's  Eve,  and  for  the  insurrection  that  forced 
Louis  XVI  from  his  palace  ;  the  Cathedral  Church  of  Notre  Dame, 
that  of  the  Madeleine ;  of  St.  Roch  ;  P^re  Lachaise,  the  Mount  Au- 
burn of  Paris,  which  I  do  not  think  worthy  to  be  compared  with 
our  Mount  Auburn  ;  it  is  filled  full  with  monuments  and  wants  the 
foliage  that  adorns  and  giyes  life  to  our  '  city  of  the  dead.'  I  called 
on  Coquerel,  the  celebrated  Protestant  preacher,  who  is  also  a  Uni- 
versalist,  but  he  was  not  at  home. 

"From  Paris,  down  the  Seine  to  Rouen,  the  old  capital  of  Nor- 
mandy ;  a  fine  city  with  a  good  deal  of  activity  apparent  in  its 
streets.  In  the  old  market  place  is  the  statue  of  Joan  d'Arc,  on  the 
spot  where  she  was  burned.  Thence  leaving  the  Seine,  across  the 
country  to  Havre,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  ;  a  very  busy  city.  Here 
we  took  leave  of  the  Continent  forever,  went  on  board  a  steamer, 
got  our  passports  viseed  for  the  last  time ;  crossed  the  channel 
in  the  night,  and  next  morning  were  steering  past  the  Isle  of  Wight 
for  Southampton,  on  the  southern  coast  of  England.  The  Isle  of 
Wight  is  distinguished  for  its  rural  beauty,  and  we  could  see  its 
fields  and  rows  of  trees  from  the  deck.  Landed  at  Southampton 
and  proceeded  to  Salisbury.  Went  into  its  cathedral,  one  of  the 
largest  and  finest  in  England.  Afternoon,  drove  out  about  seven 
miles  to  Stouehenge,  on  Salisbury  plain, — that  old  Druidical  monu- 
ment, enormous  stones  iu  their  rude  state  set  up  in  a  circle,  with 
mounds  all  around.  From  Salisbury  took  stage  for  Bristol  in  the 
southwestern  part  of  England,  going  through  Bath.  Stayed  in  Bris- 
tol overnight,  and  then  turned  about  for  London.  Took  the  great 
Western  Railroad  and  went  like  lightning  to  Reading,  and  then  to 
Slough,  near  Windsor.  Stopped  overnight  at  Windsor  ;  next  morning 
took  a  cab,  drove  down  to  Eaton  Colleges,  then  through  Slough  still 
northward  to  Stoke-Pogis,  the  '  Country  Churchyard,'  on  which  Gray 
wrote  his  celebrated  ode.  It  is  truh'  an  old  country  churchyard, 
lying  out  alone  in  a  highly  cultivated  tract,  only  two  or  three 
houses  in  the  neighborhood ;   an  ancient  church,  built  at  different 


EUROPE.  187 

times  and  in  fantastic  shape,  or  shapes,  with  a  little  smooth-shaven 
lawn  in  front  all  surrounded  with  trees.  Here  is  the  grave  of  Gray, 
near  the  church  wall ;  there,  among  the  graves,  are  the  aged  yew 
trees ;  on  the  rising  ground  at  the  end  of  the  lawn  is  Gray's  monu- 
ment, overlooking  the  road  hidden  by  foliage,  and  commanding  a 
view  of  the  country  far  around,  even  to  the  castle  of  Windsor,  I 
think.  Back  to  Windsor ;  traveled  for  miles  through  the  stately  old 
park,  then  went  into  the  castle  and  saw  the  queen's  staterooms 
and  furniture.  The  castle  overlooks  the  Thames  at  its  base,  and  all 
the  level  country  to  great  distance  on  every  side.  Some  miles  to 
the  east  is  Windsor  Forest,  away  beyond  the  park,  or  rather  it  is  a 
continuation  of  the  park.  From  Windsor  by  railroad  to  London, 
where  we  put  up  again  in  our  old  lodgings,  glad  to  get  badi,  and  the 
family  apparently  glad  to  see  us.  Stayed  three  or  four  days  in 
London  to  settle  up  our  business,  that  is,  to  get  our  bills  exchanged 
for  drafts  on  America.  Started  north  for  Cambridge,  went  into  the 
colleges  of  the  university,^  saw  the  old  mulberry  tree  planted  by 
Milton  while  a  student  here  ;  went  on  still  north  through  Ely,  passing 
its  cathedral,  and  put  up  at  Peterborough.  Went  into  its  cathedral, 
saw  where  Catherine,  the  first  queen  of  Henry  VIII,  lies,  and  the 
tomb  in  which  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  was  first  buried,  though  after- 
wards removed  to  AVestminster  Abbey.  Next  morning  turned  to  the 
west,  went  through  Rugby,  Litchfield,  Tamworth,  etc.,  and  reached 
Liverpool  before  night.  Stayed  here  two  or  three  days,  called  on 
Dr.  Thom,  who  was  kind  enough  to  invite  a  number  of  clergy,meu 
and  professors  ;  had  a  pleasant  evening.  Took  steamer  America 
on  Saturday  p.m.,  four  days  before  the  ill-fated  Arctic  left.  She 
was  the  next  steamer  after  ours.  Put  into  Halifax,  and  saw  Brother 
Hooper.  Reached  home  Saturday  morning,  a  fortnight  after  leaving 
Liverpool,  —  rather  a  long  passage,  with  head  winds  and  rough  seas 
till  we  reached  the  Newfoundland  banks. 

"By  an  oversight  I  missed  the  direct  way  to  Ayr  and  Kilmarnock, 
the  scenes  of  Burns'  early  life,  and  to  punish  myself  for  my  careless- 

1  In  his  notebook  Dr.  Ballou  says  he  was  more  favorably  impressed  with  Cambridge 
than  with  Oxford  University. 


188  HO  SEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

ness,  I  would  not  go  there  from  Glasgow.  This,  I  think,  was  the 
only  thing  I  failed  of  seeing  which  I  had  set  my  heart  upon  when  I 
undertook  the  tour.  The  objects  that  I  most  love  to  recall  are  the 
old  huge  churches  of  Holland,  Belgium,  and  the  Rhine  ;  the  few  old 
cathedrals  of  England  ;  the  green  fields  of  P^ngland  and  Ireland  ;  the 
Giant's  Causeway  ;  the  Clyde,  Loch  Lomond,  and  the  route  to  Stir- 
ling ;  Edinburgh,  Abbotsford,  Stoke-Pogis,  the  Lakes  of  Cumberland  ; 
"Windsor,  Richmond,  the  immensity  of  London  ;  (I  ought  to  mention 
8tonehenge  ;  )  Waterloo  ;  the  rolling  plain  of  Belgium  ;  the  watery  low- 
lands of  Holland  ;  Haarlem  Organ  ;  the  Rhine  ;  the  Alps,  and  lakes  of 
Switzerland  ;  Paris  ;  and  the  interviews  I  had  with  Chambers,  Carlyle, 
Kredner,  etc.  I  never  knew  what  was  the  significance  of  the  Gothic 
architecture  till  I  saw  it  where  it  belongs,  —  in  the  immense  cathedrals 
for  which  it  was  designed.  We  have  nothing  like  them  in  our  country  ; 
Trinity  Church,  New  York,  being  a  toy  in  comparison.  Of  the  Alps 
I  had  formed  some  notion  beforehand,  often  as  correct  as  a  drawing 
on  paper  would  give.  But  it  is  a  different  thing  to  see  the  reality 
itself.  The  cities  of  Europe,  generally,  wear  an  aspect  much  more 
antique  than  I  had  imagined  ;  they  are,  for  the  most  part,  solid  old 
blocks  of  building  with  narrow  stirred-up  streets  between, — dead 
as  the  men  who  founded  them.  In  Holland  and  in  some  places  on 
the  Rhine  they  are  partly  surrounded  with  thick  groves,  or  close 
parks,  into  which  you  step  almost  from  the  very  streets.  This  adds 
a  peculiar  beauty. 

"  Well,  here  is  the  longest  letter  I  have  written  for  many  a  year.^ 
I  began  it  at  noon,  and  now  it  is  into  the  evening.  Please  drop  us 
a  line  soon,  that  we  may  know  how  Mrs.  Ballou  is. 

Yours  truly,  H.  BALLOU,  2d. 

"Rev.  Levi  Ballou." 

A  friend  of  Dr.  Ballou  once  said,  of  him  :  "  I  think  of  the 
man  who,  more  than  any  other  I  ever  knew,  loved  the  Creator's 
nature,  and  whose  soul  was  full  of  '  all  sweet  sounds  and 
harmonies.'     There  were  few  regions  on  this  earth  in  which, 

1  For  the  first  part  of  this  letter  see  chap.  XIII. 


EUBOPE.  189 

by  thought  and  feeling,  he  had  not  traveled.  .  .  .  When  from 
Lake  Geneva  he  first  saw  the  dome  of  Mont  Blanc,  as  it 
lifts  above  the  lower  hills,  he  met  its  mighty  welcome  as  an 
old  friend.  When  from  the  spires  of  Berne  and  the  hills 
of  Ziirich  he  first  saw  the  beautiful  Oberland,  he  counted 
all  the  peaks  by  name.  And  so  wherever  he  went,  he  seemed 
to  have  sent  himself  on  before,  so  familiar  by  study  had  he 
become  with  the  scenes  amid  which  he  was  moving.  Years 
before  he  went  abroad,  he  made  a  map  of  the  one  hundred  and 
twenty  snowy  summits,  which,  as  seen  from  a  few  great  points 
in  that  marvelous  land,  fill  all  the  horizon ;  and  when  from 
the  slopes  of  the  Jura,  and  the  turrets  of  Milan,  he  saw  these 
same  domes  of  living  white,  he  knew  and  verified  their  out- 
line, and  marked  their  groups  from  his  own  little  picture,  so 
rudely  and  yet  so  accurately  drawn."  ^ 

1  Eey.  C.  H.  Leonard,  d.d.,  in  Ladies'  Repository,  July,  1869. 


CHAPTER   X. 

WIT   AND   WISDOM. 

Glad  to  return  to  his  home  and  to  his  friends,  who  congre- 
gated every  Monday  at  Cornhill,  Dr.  Ballon  was  somewhat 
lionized,  after  the  manner  of  those  days  when  a  European  trip 
meant  more  of  an  undertaking  than  it  means  now. 

Referring  to  her  "  old,  valued,  and  revered  friend.  Dr. 
Ballou,  2d,"  Mrs.  Mary  T.  Goddard  writes  to  the  author:  "I 
have  no  letters  to  send  you,  for  his  intimacy  at  our  house  was 
so  great  that  there  was  no  bar  to  personal  intercourse.  My 
recollections  of  the  pleasure  those  visits  gave  us,  and  the 
friends  from  Cornhill  who  often  came  with  him  of  a  Monday 
to  dine,  are  clear  and  delightful  to  this  day,  —  and  I  am  over 
eighty  years  old !  But  I  cannot  frame  any  details  for  your  use 
now.  Dr.  Chapin,  T.  Starr  King,  Mr.  Tompkins,  my  brother, 
Richard  Frothingham,  met  many  times  together  at  our  house 
in  those  days  with  Dr.  Ballou,  2d,  and  not  only  the  religious 
and  literary  matters  of  the  passing  age  were  discussed,  but  the 
fund  of  wit  and  humor  so  largely  possessed  by  these  gentlemen 
was  used  almost  without  limit  at  times ;  and  among  them  all, 
no  one  had  a  quieter  or  more  irresistible  archness  of  manner,  or 
a  slyer  or  more  demure  mirth-provoking  sparkle  of  the  eye, 
than  Rev.  H.  Ballou,  2d.  I  remember  one  day  in  particular  (we 
dined  at  two  P.M.),  just  as  Dickens'  great  work,  the  '  Pickwick 
Papers,'  made  its  appearance  in  Boston,  how  he,  with  Dr.  Chapiii 
and  T.  Starr  King,  was  with  us,  and  several  others  also.  Very 
soon  that  remarkable  book  became  the  subject  of  conversation, 
and  each  recited  from  memory,  after  probably  once  reading, 
scene  after  scene  of  that  comic  history  in  their  own  inimitable 


^^^^^<=^,^    "^^^^^^^W^^^^iC^ 


WIT  AND    WISDOM.  191 

manner,  so  that  all  other  things  were  forgotten  ;  even  my  dear 
husband  putting  business  matters  out  of  his  mind  !  Not  until 
the  clock  had  struck  five  p.m.  did  the  gathering  break  up  !  I 
often  used  to  say  to  Mr.  Goddard  after  these  meetings,  how 
much  I  wished  many  more  of  our  friends  could  enjoy  what  we 
enjoyed." 

Alas  !  Chapin  and  King  and  the  rest  who  formed  that  charmed 
circle  of  wits  have  nearly  all  departed,  and  not  only  their  per- 
sonal recollections  but  many  witty  notes  from  Dr.  Ballon, 
worthy  of  the  greatest  of  the  old-time  English  and  French 
wits,  sacredly  treasured  -by  them,  have  now  gone  past  recall. 
But  fortunately  we  are  able  even  now  to  gather  together  in 
this  chapter  some  worthy  examples  of  Dr.  Ballou's  wit,  and  so, 
in  a  measure,  enjoy  what  they  enjoyed. 

For  delicacy  of  wit  we  know  of  nothing  that  surpasses  the 
following  composition,  which  Dr.  Ballou  addressed  to  "  Rev. 
E.  H.  Chapin,  Boston,  Mass.,"  in  1847 :  — 

"FOR    THE    llavrioyr,. 

"The  Pilgrimage  of  Childe  Edwin  and  Childe  Cyrus.  A  Ro- 
maunt.  In  Two  Cantos.  Seventeenth  Edition,  from  the  Original 
Imprint  in  1621,  London:  Arms  &.  Co.,  Paternoster  Row.  1847. 
Small  4to.     pp.  297. 

"  No  poem  since  the  days  of  Spencer  has  been  so  much  sought  for 
as  this  renowned  pilgrimage.  It  is  well  known  to  the  learned  that 
several  of  the  first  English  poets  drew  from  it  their  inspiration,  in 
the  most  admired  passages  of  their  works.  Indeed,  it  has  stamped 
its  character  on  most  of  the  higher  poetry  in  our  language.  Thomp- 
son, in  the  Advertisement  to  his  '  Castle  of  Indolence,'  acknowledges, 
'  I  should  never  have  thought  of  the  subject  which  I  here  attempt 
had  I  not  read,  in  my  younger  days,  that  unequaled  production, 
"  The  Pilgrimage  of  Childern  Edwin  and  Cyrus."  I  hope  my  readers 
will  pardon  me,  if  I  sometimes  borrow  its  language  as  well  as  its 
thoughts ;  for  it  is  impossible  to  keep  clear  of  imitation  when  one 


192  HO  SEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

has  been  so  profoundly  moved.'  Even  Milton  has  not  disdained  to 
avail  himself  of  its  descriptions  in  the  sublimest  scenes  of  '  Paradise 
Lost,'  especially  in  his  portraits  of  fat  old  Belial,  and  the  gaunter 
Mammon.  Lord  Byron,  we  all  know,  has  been  accused  of  the  gross- 
est plagiarism  in  his  '  Childe  Harold's  Pilgrimage.'  Not  only  the  title, 
but  the  invocations  and  many  of  the  stanzas,  are  obvious  imitations 
of  the  ancient  romaunt;  and  all  that  is  new  in  his  principal  char- 
acter or  hero  is,  that  he  has  happily  blended  the  vices  of  both  the 
original  Childern  in  his  one  Childe  Harold,  thus  attaining  perhaps  a 
greater  degree  of  artistic  unity,  but  at  the  expense  of  that  almost 
infinite  variet}'  of  mischief  and  wickedness,  which  distinguishes  the 
characters  in  the  poem  from  which  he  drew. 

"  We  wish  to  make  this  master-production  of  genius  more  generally 
known  to  our  countrymen.  Why  it  has  been  so  long  unnoticed 
among  us  we  cannot  conceive.  In  England  it  has  been  not  only 
classic  but  a  household  book  for  more  than  two  centuries.  Like 
Shakespeare,  the  author  appears  to  have  anticipated  the  form  of  our 
language  at  the  present  day,  for  his  style  is  not  in  the  least  anti- 
quated, and  but  few  of  his  words  have  gone  out  of  use. 

"Mark  the  opening  of  the  poem.  What  a  combination  of  senti- 
ments, of  reverence,  tender  reminiscence,  sadness  even,  and  terror, 
mingled  with  sprightliness,  and,  if  we  do  not  mistake,  with  a  gleam 
of  humor,  but  all  underlaid  by  a  very  earnest  spirit,  — in  the  "■  Invo- 
cation ! '  And  then,  the  unfolding  of  the  story, — how  simple  and 
how  rich ! 

"O  thou,  who,  on  the  heights  of  Barney  Hill, 
Didst  whilome  listen  to  my  passioned  vow 
When  life  was  young  !     O  hearken  to  me  still. 
Now  age  has  dimmed  mine  eye  and  scathed  my  brow, 
And  fancy's  fire  is  glimmering  faint  and  low. 
If  ever  fife  was  pleasaunt  to  thine  ear 
On  training-days  or  musters,  aid  me  now ; 
And  while  I  chaunt  this  lay  of  penance  drear, 
Do  thou  inspire  my  notes  !     O  Muse  of  Fifery,  hear ! 


MRS.  MARY  T.  GODDARD. 


WIT  AND    WISDOM.  193 

"  There  were  two  rude  aud  graceless  imps  of  sin, 
Who  served  the  Devil,  their  Dad,  with  all  their  might, 
(Ah  ise  !  the  wicked  pranks  they  gloried  in  ! ) 
Childe  Edwin  this,  and  that  Childe  Cyrus  hight. 
Were  horse  and  chaise  left  fastened,  in  his  sight, 
Childe  Edwin  stole  them  straight,  in  open  day ; 
Or,  bolting  into  houses,  he  would  dight 
Himself  in  pilfered  coats,  and  then  away 
Swift  through  the  country  in  his  harlequin  array ! 

"  Childe  Cyrus,  more  afraid  of  the  police, 
Chose  as  his  safer  part,  impiety  ; 
Turning  all  sacred  service  to  a  piece 
Of  fun  uproarious  and  wild  mockery. 
Preaching  at  solemn  Installation,  he 
Would  sometimes  end  it  with  a  horse-race  home ; 
Whipping  and  shouting,  in  mad  revelry. 
Scattering  the  passengers,  with  terror  dumb, 
Who  whispered,   with  white  lips,   Th'  Old  Scratch  has  come ! 
He  's  come  ! 

"  Ah,  then  and  there  was  scampering  to  and  fro. 
And  many  a  swoon  and  many  a  frightful  screech ; 
Faces  all  pale,  which,  but  an  hour  ago. 
Were  upturned  to  the  Childe  to  hear  him  preach ; 
And  there  were  desperate  leapings  o'er  the  ditch 
On  either  hand,  to  clear  his  clattering  wheel. 
And  gain  a  space  beyond  his  whip's  wide  reach ; 
While  —  click  !  he  passed  his  rival,  with  a  peal 
Of  blackguard  mirth,  that  wound  off  in  a  kind  of  squeal !  " 

(Pp.  6,  7.) 

"  The  next  twenty  stanzas  excel,  for  description,  everything  that 
perhaps  is  to  be  found  in  our  language.  But  we  have  space  only 
to  give  a  bald  abstract  of  the  story.  After  a  reckless  career  of 
mischief,  our  two  roysterers  become  alarmed  at  their  own  excesses. 


194  ROSEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

and,   to  quiet  their  consciences,   consult  an  ancient,  white-haired 
doctor.     He 

.  .   .  bowed  his  venerable  head, 
And  heard  them  whisper  their  confession  dread. 
For  penance,  he  appointed  them  only  a  short   pilgrimage   to   the 
nearest    station,    but  they,   unsubdued    by   so   slight   a   discipline, 
returned  and  abused  the  venerable  sage. 

"  With  scornful  words  and  challenges  to  fight, 
Childe  Edwin  dared  him  out  into  the  street. 
While  he,  Childe  Cyrus,  sneered  with  all  his  might. 
But  kept  behind  his  partner  a  few  feet ; 
For  much  he  feared  the  Doctor's  eye  to  meet ; 
That  saintly  eye,  he  could  not  stand  before, 
As  pictured  in  a  lithographic  sheet. 
Which,  whoso  seeth,  will  never  wonder  more 
That  terror  seized  the  Childe  and  made  him  tremble  sore." 

(Pp.  126,  127.) 

"In  such  a  desperate  case,  the  reverend  man  condemned  the  two 
sinners  to  a  long  and  weary  pilgrimage  by  night,  and  through  miry 
ways,  Childe  Edwin  with  nails  in  his  boots,  on  account  of  his  more 
daring  insolence.  Then  follows  the  story  of  their  nightly  journey- 
ings  ;  how  they  at  first  gnashed  their  teeth,  but  still  dared  not  dis- 
obey ;  then,  how  their  hearts  began  to  fail  them  as  they  got  out  on 
the  open  road  with  nothing  but  the  dark  misty  heavens  above  and  the 
unpeopled  solitude  around  and  mud  beneath  ;  how  they  bemoaned 
their  fate  to  the  dumb  rocks  and  ghastly  brick-kilns  ;  and  apostro- 
phized the  dim  marshes  all  wrapped  iu  darkness ;  and  how  by  much 
suffering  and  wearing  away  of  the  flesh  they  were  at  length  sub- 
dued, etc." ^ 

1  The  venerable  Rev.  Dr.  Cyrus  H.  Fay  says  :  "  The  following  circumstances  led  the 
way  to  this  production :  Brother  Chapin  and  I,  by  previous  agreement,  went  to  Medford 
to  spend  a  few  hours,  one  pleasant  afternoon,  with  Brother  Ballon.  The  time  limit  of  our 
call  soon  expired,  and  we  arose  to  depart;  our  genial  host  and  hostess,  however,  per- 
suaded us  to  tarry  longer,  and  take  an  early  '  tea  '  with  them ;  assuring  us  that  we  could 
return  to  our  homes  iu  good  season,  either  hj  the  omnibus  or  steam  car.  As  the  days  were 
long,  and  the  afternoon  pleasant,  we  had  good  reason  for  the  belief  that  we  could  reach 


WIT  AND    WISDOM.  195 

Among  many  witty  notes  to  his  publisher,^  the  following  is 
one  of  the  earliest :  — 

"  To  the  Honorable  A.  Tompkins,  portly  and  quarrelsome  gentleman, 
and  undoubtedly  the  chief  of  all  the  booksellers  of  Boston,  the  single 
and  solitary  Doctor  of  the  Uuiversalist  Theology  makes  obeisance 
with  profound  heartiness  and  sends  salutations :  To  thee,  O  incom- 
parable benefactor,  be  given  prosperous  maturity ;  upon  thee  be 
showered  the  gracious  smiles  of  ladies  ;  for  thee  be  granted  thousands 
of  purchasers  and  of  offices  under  Taylor  (Hurrah  for  him  !)  ;  by  thee 
be  enjoyed  breakfasts  and  many  suppers,  with  wine  and  turtle  soup, 
among  the  fathers  of  the  city  ! 

"  Having  firm  faith,  and  even  enjoying  the  consciousness  that  thou 
art  on  the  eve  of  presenting  me  with  an  edition  of  Shakespeare's 
dramas  in  eight  volumes  appropriate  for  the  use  of  venerable  age,  I 
now  return  to  thee  great  thanks,  and,  with  a  heart  full  of  joy,  accept 
the  magnificent  gift  in  anticipation.  If  the  expectation  is  so  inspir- 
ing, how  much  moi*e  exhilarating  will  the  possession  be  !  O  days  of 
transport !  O  nights  of  bliss  !  Then  day  and  night  shall  I  revel  in 
the  songs  of  the  Swan  of  Avon  ;  then  from  them  shall  I  draw  inspira- 
tion for  another  '  Barney  Hill '  in  the  Rose  of  Sharon  !  And  then 
immense  fame  shall  accrue  to  thee,  the  publisher,  through  all  lands, 
even,  it  may  be,  throughout  the  Univercoelum.     But  no  words,  not 

our  city  abodes  before  the  shadows  began  to  fall.  Immediately  after  the  repast  we  bade 
good-by  to  our  entertainers,  and  started  for  the  headquarters  of  the  omnibus  line,  near  by. 
On  reaching  them  we  were  informed  that  the  last  'bus  for  the  day  was,  probably,  nearer 
Charlestown  than  Medford.  As  quickly  as  our  legs  could  carry  us,  we  made  our  way  to 
the  railroad  depot,  to  meet  with  another  disappointment!  The  last  train  had  started  for 
Boston;  we  saw  that  we  must  '  foot  it,'  as  the  saying  is,  and  so  '  nerved  our  spirits  to  the 
proof.'  But,  before  beginning  our  tramp,  we  made  a  slight  detour  to  reach  the  house  we 
hail  so  recently  left,  and  give  the  Medford  pastor  some  expression  of  our  feigned  in- 
dignation. With  unnecessary  noise,  perhaps,  we  summoned  him  to  the  door,  shook  our 
fists  in  his  face,  and  utterad  words  in  liarmony  with  our  ferocious  gesticulation !  We  then 
started  on  our  long  and  lonely  way.  Before  we  had  passed  the  last  brick-kiln  which 
frowned  upon  us,  Chapin  I)ecame  footsore  and  weary;  and  our  progress  was  both  painful 
and  slow.  Happily  on  the  outskirts  of  Charlestown,  we  discovered  a  livery  stable ;  and 
there  we  secured  a  vehicle  which  conveyed  us  easily  to  our  homes." 

Not  many  days  afterward  the  Medford  seer  wrote  the  above  production. 

1  As  in  the  days  of  barter,  Comhill  publishers  appear  to  have  paid  authors  more  in 
goods  than  in  cash. 


196  ROSEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

the  Latin  speech  itself,  can  express  the  gushes  of  my  feeling.     Let 
my  tongue  keep  silence.     However,  send  quickly  the  volumes  afore- 
said. 
*'Medford,  December  26,  1848." 

For  his  publisher  he  wrote 

BYRON'S   SONG. 

("  Don  Juan,"  Canto  III,  Stanza  36.) 

The  Views  of  Greece  !     The  Views  of  Greece ! 

On  which  my  raptured  eyes  have  hung, 
Which  Tompkins  tells  me,  if  I  please, 

He  '11  give  me  for  my  song,  when  sung, — 
They  're  safe  in  Burnham's  bookstore  yet ; 
But  I  shall  have  them  soon,  I  '11  bet. 

The  Barney  Hill  and  Medford  Muse, 

The  Trainer's  fife,  the  Elder's  flute. 
Will  not  their  grateful  strains  refuse, 

In  notes  that  echo  soft,  or  'cute. 
As  soon  as  Tompkins  makes  me  blest, 
Of  Williams'  Views  of  Greece  possessed. 

There,  mountains  look  on  Marathon  ! 

There,  Marathon  looks  on  the  sea ! 
Oh,  while  those  Views  I  gazed  upon, 

They  seemed  already  given  to  me  ; 
Nor  did  I  think  that  I  should  have 
To  ask  again  the  boon  I  crave. 

I  leaned  against  the  dusty  brow 

Of  Burnham's  counter,  lost  in  bliss 
O'er  so  magnificent  a  show 

Of  prints  by  dozens,  —  all  of  Greece ; 
I  counted  them,  that  very  day. 
And  sixty-two  before  me  lay  ! 


WIT  AND    WISDOM.  197 

And  where  are  they  ?  not,  Where  art  thou, 

O  Tompkins?     For  within  thy  store 
I  know  thou  sittest,  planning  how 

To  grant  my  prayer,  as  heretofore  ; 
'T  is  but  to  make  that  vohime  thine, 
Then  pass  it  to  these  hands  of  mine. 

So  may  no  barber  touch  thy  face. 

Nor  barberize  thy  chin  for  thee  ; 
So  may  thy  beard  in  growth  keep  pace 

With  thine  abounding  charity, 
Till  it  shall  spread  from  head  to  feet, 
And  Ursa  Major  "give  up,  beat." 

The  following  letters  and  verses  addressed  to  his  publisher 
need  no  introduction :  — 

Medford,  January  18,  1854. 
A.  Tompkins,  Esq. 

Dear  Sir,  —  There  's  a  book  at  Button  &  Ide's  that  I  am  going 
to  accept  of  you  as  a  present,  namely,  "  Spruner's  Ancient  Atlas," 
a  magnificent  work ;  call  and  see  it ;  you  will  say  that  it  is  the 
most  splendid  thing  you  ever  saw,  and  costs  only  ten  dollars. 

As  to  my  part  in  the  business,  that  is,  the  acceptance  of  the  gift, 
there  will  be  no  difficulty  whatever  ;  in  fact  I  made  up  my  mind 
on  that  point  two  days  ago,  and  I  think  you  may  set  your  heart  at 
rest  about  it.  The  only  difficulty  we  need  apprehend  is  in  getting 
you  to  do  your  part.  Should  you  prove  to  be  obstinate  we  may 
have  some  trouble,  though  none  but  what  will  be  easily  obviated. 
All  that  will  be  requisite  for  this  purpose,  even  in  the  utmost  ex- 
tremity, is  for  you  to  defy  me  to  get  that  book  of  you.  This  will 
enable  me,  as  it  always  has  done,  to  devise  some  way  to  overcome 
your  reluctance.  For  this,  then,  I  wait  —  for  a  hearty  ore  rotundo 
defiance,  emphasized  with  a  shake  of  the  paw,  which  if  you  will 
please  to  give  me  the  next  time  we  meet  all  will  go  well.  Or 
should  you,  like  the  wise  coon  we  read  of,  give  in  at  once  and  make 
no  attempt  to  stand  it  out,  it  would  be  rather  an  accommodation  to 


198  HOSEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

♦ 

me  just  now;  for,  to  tell  the  truth,  I  can  hardh^  spare  the  time  to 
bring  you  down.  Either  way,  however,  I  do  not  know  that  I  have 
much  choice.  At  all  events,  you  will  have  to  give  the  book,  and  I 
suppose  I  ought  to  accommodate  you  as  to  the  manner. 

Your  greatly  obliged,  in  future,         H.  BALLOU,  2d. 
A.  Tompkins,  Esq-. 

Donation  Place,  March  24,  1854. 

Bounteous  Ursa  Major ^  —  It  seems  to  me  that  you  do  not  quite 
understand  the  philosophy  of  human  action,  which  I  will  therefore 
try  to  explain  to  you  ;  I  mean  with  respect  to  remunerating  a  bene- 
factor. Somehow,  you  appear  to  have  confounded  the  chronology 
of  the  business.  Now,  if  I  understand  the  case,  the  time  to  look 
for  anything  in  the  way  of  recompense,  or  equivalent  for  a  favor,  is 
before  the  favor  is  conferred,  not  afterwards.  For  when  it  has  been 
actually  received  by  the  donee,  what  motive  can  he  then  have  to 
return  a  quid  pro  quo  f  Before  he  obtains  it  he  has  desii'e  to  stimu- 
late him,  an  urgent  want  to  goad  him,  hope  to  call  forth  all  his 
faculties  in  their  freest  play,  ambition  to  buoy  him  up  to  the  sticking 
point.  Then  no  obstacles  are  too  great  for  him  to  overcome,  no 
sacrifice  which  he  will  not  cheerfully  submit  to.  He  will  not  fail ; 
he  will,  at  any  expense,  accomplish  what  he  has,  as  it  were,  pledged 
himself  to  do.  And  if  some  extraordinary  effort,  or  rare  contribu- 
tion on  his  part,  is  necessary,  he  makes  it  with  pleasure,  for  he  has 
an  object  ahead.  But  after  he  has  got  all  that  he  wants,  these  im- 
pulses flab  away  at  once  and  he  cannot  then  do  what  he  could  before. 
Is  it  not  so? 

Now,  to  exemplify  this  philosophy  by  the  case  in  hand  :  Before 
you  gave  me  the  book  that  I  demanded,  my  soul  was  all  in  unrest, 
haunted  by  the  image  of  the  longed-for  Spruner's  Atlas.  My  wits 
worked  spontaneously,  day  and  night  (I  could  not  prevent  them), 
contriving  all  manner  of  devices  to  get  it ;  and  when  they  had  fixed 
on  a  plan  for  the  purpose,  they  wrought  at  it  as  a  relief  from  the 
intolerable  sense  of  want  that  drove  them  on.  But  now,  the  case 
is  quite  changed.  I 've  got  the  Atlas  and  glad  am  I;  'tis  the  best 
thing  of  the  kind  I  ever  saw,  and  richly  worth  to  me  the  ten  dollars 


WIT  AND    WISDOM.  199 

you  gave  for  it.  So  much  do  I  prize  it  that  I  hardly  feel  the  ex- 
pense ;  it  seems  as  clieap  to  me  as  a  song.  It  is  true  I  could,  if 
disposed,  make  you  a  first-rate  poem,  grand,  or  thrilling,  or  exqui- 
sitely pathetic,  such  as  would  even  melt  you  down  into  a  puddle,  so 
that  you  would  have  to  be  dipped  up  with  a  ladle.  But  then  I 
won't  do  it,  because  what  I  want  now  is  to  enjoy  the  Atlas,  not  to  go 
at  work  to  pay  for  it  when  't  is  already  mine.  No,  indeed,  I  am  not 
so  ungrateful  as  thus  to  spoil  the  enjoyment  of  j'our  gift.  Consider 
yourself,  dear  Ursa  Major  ;  would  you  have  your  favor  rendered 
worthless,  after  you  have  been  at  so  much  expense  in  bestow- 
ing it?  .   .   . 

Now,  your  purpose  is  to  get  some  further  contribution  from  me, 
some  poem,  some  letter,  some  effusion  of  wit  or  genius  or  nonsense. 
This,  I  promise  you,  you  shall  have  when  the  time  comes,  though  I 
trust  you  '11  be  patient ;  I  always  meant  you  should  have  it,  that  is, 
in  the  shape  of  a  fresh  draft  for  another  gift,  only  do  not  hurry  me, 
let  it  be  by  and  by,  for  I  want  at  present  to  enjoy  Spruner's  Atlas. 
Still,  if  you  say  it  must  be  done  immediately,  why,  I  suppose  I  ought 
to  accommodate  you.  But,  at  all  events,  what  a  cheering  prospect 
opens  before  us !  As  I  look  forward  I  seem  to  contemplate  applica- 
tion after  application  for  costly  books,  and  each  application  followed 
by  the  gift  of  the  rich  volume  asked  for.  How  beautiful !  and  all 
in  agreement  with  the  "  philosophy  of  human  action  "  ! 

Yours  truly,  CACOUNA. 

Ursa  Majok. 

Again  he  muses  in  verse :  — 

So  many  tomes  of  mine  still  bear 

The  ever-honored  name 
Inscribed  of  Abel  Tompkins,  'squire, 

From  whom  the  volumes  came. 
Here  's  Carter's  Letters,  volumes  two  ; 
Here  's  Southey's  Life  of  Cowper,  do. ; 
On  Romans  Calvin's  Commentary  ; 
A  French  work  on  the  Virgin  Mary. 


200  HO  SEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

The  memory  of  these  gifts  comes  o'er 
My  soul,  like  dews  of  even 

When  summer  sleeps  on  all  the  shore, 
And  moonlight  fills  the  heaven. 

There  's  Milman's  Christian  History ; 

Gay's,  Moore's,  and  Cotton's  poetry ; 

The  Student's  Bible,  double-columned, 

And  Shakespeare's  dramas,  seven-volumed. 

How  freshly  I  recall  the  scene, 

When,  ringing  at  ray  door. 
The  driver  rolled  the  bundles  in 

Upon  the  entry  floor ! 
And  there  's  King  Arthur,  Turkey  cover, 
The  Views  of  Greece,  superb  all  over ; 
And  Spruner's  set  of  ancient  maps 
(His  MeditBval,  too? — Perhaps). 

I  've  known  how  blessed  to  receive, 

And  keep  receiving  so  ; 
I  hope  't  is  yet  more  blest  to  give. 

But  that  I  do  not  know. 
And  by  the  by,  here  should  we  reckon 
Such  works  as  Prescott's  Philip  Second, 
With  all  you  've  got  me  from  the  press, 
These  dozen  seasons,  more  or  less.^ 

To  he  continued  when  I  've  time. 

If  time  I  ever  get, 
But,  for  the  present,  let  my  rhyme 

Just  hold  upon  the  bit. 
As  for  the  Quarterly,  pray  put 
Both  Names,  as  Editorial  to 't, 
And  send  it  me  without  delaying, 
That  I  may  see  what  I  've  been  saying. 
December  30,  1855. 

1  All  of  these  books  are  now  in  the  Tufts  College  Library. 


CORNHILL. 


WIT  AND    WISDOM.  201 

The  following  letter  to  his  brother  Levi  is  characteristic :  — 

Medford,  July  23,  1842. 
Elder  Ballou. 

Dear  Brother^ — This  is  to  inform  you  that  you  are  married.  I 
was  in  Boston  to-day,  when  I  saw  the  Vermont  Watchman  ;  and  in 
that  I  found  a  fuU  and  unequivocal  statement  of  the  fact,  without 
an}^  ifs  or  couditionalities.  So  the  matter  is  settled.  And  as  you 
did  not  write  to  let  me  know  it,  I  thought  it  proper  to  send  word  to 
you  forthwith.  Accordingly,  I  have  seized  my  pen  as  soon  as  I  got 
home  from  the  city  ;  and  here  I  am,  down  at  the  table,  this  hot  day, 
in  the  act  of  inditing  a  letter.  How  I  shall  get  through  with  it  is 
uncertain.  I  think,  however,  it  will  be  expedient  to  divide  it  off 
into  heads,  as  I  would  a  sei'mon,  so  that  if  I  come  short  of  matter 
in  to-morrow's  discourses  I  may  avail  myself  of  some  help  from  my 
present  effort. 

And  in  the  first  place  :  We  send  all  manner  of  greetings,  con- 
gratulations, felicitations,  good  wishes,  loves,  and  affectionate  sal- 
utations to  yourself  and  lady,  hoping  you  may  see  many  years  of 
happiness  together,  be  well  and  hearty  as  the  very  genius  of  health 
itself,  get  as  rich  as  Croesus,  have  twenty  or  thirty  children,  etc. 

Secondly  :  Have  you  made  a  journey  since  j'our  marriage,  except 
in  removing  from  Guilford  to  Newport?  I  suspect  not.  Now,  be 
it  known  unto  you  that  this  thing  must  be  done.  It  is  always 
customary  (I  think  the  law  requires  it)  for  the  newly  married 
couple  to  make  a  tour  soon  after  their  wedding,  and  carry  a  piece  of 
the  wedding  cake  to  their  relations  and  friends,  besides  seeing  the 
country,  enjoying  a  visit  or  two,  etc.  Medford  is  the  place  for  the 
accomplishment  of  all  these  objects.  What  say  you  to  harnessing  your 
carriage  and  jogging  down  this  way?  Or,  if  you  prefer  it,  taking 
the  stage  to  Nashua,  and  then  coming  like  lightning  to  our  depot, 
where  I  will  see  that  a  means  of  conveyance  shall  be  ready  to  bring 
you  to  our  house  ?  .   .   . 

Fourthly  —  Miscellaneous :  I  suppose  you  have  seen  father  since 
his  return  from  Medford.     I  received  a  letter  from  him  soon  after 


202  ROSEA   BALLOU  2d,   D.D. 

he  reached  home.  But  I  have  not  heard  from  Brother  William. ^ 
I  suppose,  of  course,  that  he  has  left  New  York.  .  .  .  What  will  he  do? 
Will  he  take  pattern  from  your  example  and  learn  that  great 
Scripture  truth,  which  is  one  of  the  first  in  the  Bible,  that  "it  is 
not  good  for  man  to  be  alone  "?  The  Lord  open  his  eyes  and  give 
him  an  understanding  heart ! 

Have  you  concluded,  up  your  way,  to  bring  the  world  to  an  end 
next  year?  There  is  some  talk  among  us  of  trying  it.  How  they 
will  make  out  is  rather  doubtful ;  it  will  be  so  great  a  job  that,  like 
smaller  jobs,  it  will  hardly  be  finished,  I  think,  at  the  time  set. 
And,  indeed,  I  am  told  that  some  of  Miller's  workmen  begin  to  talk 
of  putting  it  off  a  few  years  longer. 

Please  write  as  soon  as  you  receive  this ;  and  if  you  have  nothing 
else  to  say,  say,  "I'm  married."  Say,  too,  "I'm  going  to  see 
you." 

Yours  most  affectionately, 

H.  BALLOU,  2d. 
Rev.  L.  Ballou. 

When  R.  A.  Ballou  was  studying  with  Dr.  Ballou  and  keep- 
ing company  with  his  daughter  Harriet  (his  future  wife),  he 
once  enlivened  the  usually'"  witty  dinner  hour  by  putting  this 
"poser"  to  the  doctor:  "In  Joshua  x.  12,  when  the  Lord 
said,  '  Sun,  stand  thou  still  upon  Gibeon,'  why  did  he  stop  the 
moon  too  ?  "  "  It  is  perfectly  plain,"  replied  the  doctor  ;  "  he 
knew  if  he  did  not  stop  the  moon,  the  sun  would  be  running 
along  after  her  !  " 

A  lazy  student  of  history  once  tried  to  cover  his  ignorance 
of  the  subject  by  a  bold  face,  but  he  could  not  deceive  the 
doctor.  "  How  high  were  the  walls  of  Sparta  ? "  he  asked. 
Nonplussed,  the  student  guessed,  "  Fifteen  feet."  Then  Dr. 
Ballou  quietly  observed  that  Sparta  had  no  walls  ! 

To  a  question  put  by  Dr.  Ballou,  "  I  have  forgotten,"  stam- 

1  Rev.  William  Starr  Ballou,  who  never  married. 


WIT  AND    WISDOM.  203 

mered  a  college  student.  "  No,  you  have  not  forgotten,"  said 
the  doctor ;  "  you  never  knew." 

Dr.  Ballou's  government  was  paternal ;  he  kept  mischievous 
students  under  close  surveillance.  One  evening  a  student  was 
blowing  a  tin-horn  at  his  window,  when  a  fellow-student's  hand, 
as  he  supposed,  seized  the  horn.  "  Oh,  let 's  have  one  more 
toot ! "  said  he,  not  looking  around.  Imagine  his  surprise  to 
hear  the  doctor's  voice  at  his  ear  answer,  "  No  !  " 

In  1848  Taylor  was  nominated  for  President,  and  he  wrote 
his  brother  Levi :  "  If  the  people  are  crazy  enough,  they  will 
elect  him,  '  by  a  most  overwhelming  majority  of  two  thirds,'  as 
Flagg  told  the  Lord  in  his  prayer  at  Brother  Sawyer's 
ordination." 

Once,  under  provocation  similar  to  that  which  prompted 
"  English  Bards  and  Scotch  Reviewers,"  Dr.  Ballou  expressed 
his  disgust  as  follows  :  — 

"  Mankind  are  queer  chickens.  Did  you  ever  see  a  brood  of  them 
get  around  a  poor  worm  ;  the  old  hen  cluck,  cluck,  clucking,  and 
bristling  up  her  feathers  and  sounding  her  alarm,  and  the  chicks  all 
hurrying  to  the  awful  spot,  each  to  have  a  share  in  the  business? 
Be  cool,  biddies  ;  don't  be  fussy  ;  take  it  fair  and  easy  ;  such  things 
have  been  known  to  happen  before  now." 

On  Christmas,  1847,  he  wrote  to  his  brother  Levi,  congrat- 
ulating the  denomination  on  the  withdrawal  of  certain  men  :  — 

"  God  save  us  from  this  stupid  Blockheadism,  for  there  never  was 
anything  more  stupid  than  the  attempt  to  infidelize  Christianity  ! 
Infidelity  itself,  on  its  own  ground,  may  be  respectable  enough  to 
deserve  computation ;  but  no-faith-Christianity,  anti-Bible-gospel  is 
a  peg  a  little  lower  than  the  bottom  of  the  ladder,  and  is  so  infinitely 
absurd  that  one  knows  not  what  to  say  to  it." 

This  letter  is  from  the  late  Professor  Benjamin  F.  Tweed, 
who  never  tired  of  repeating  Dr.  Ballou's  bonsmots :  — 


204  HO  SEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

Tufts  College,  January  27,  1860. 
Dr.  Ballou. 

Dear  Sir, — As  an  official  guardian  of  the  purity  of  the  English 
language,  it  seems  to  me  proper  not  only  to  condemn  what  is  con- 
demnable  (damnable)  in  its  current  use,  but  to  commend  whatever 
tends  to  enrich  it,  and  to  render  it  more  precise  and  vigorous. 

It  was  Coleridge,  I  think,  who  said  that  any  one  who  desynonymizes 
two  terms  which  have  been  used  indiscrimiuately,  is  a  public  bene- 
factor. Is  he  less  worthy  of  our  gratitude  who  culls  simples  from 
the  roots  of  the  language,  and  so  compounds  them  as  to  express  the 
exact  value  of  a  new  idea  which  has  dawned  on  humanity  ?  With 
this  semi-apologetic  exordium,  allow  me  to  call  your  attention  to 
what  seems  to  me  one  of  the  most  felicitous  examples  of  neology  to 
be  found  in  the  whole  range  of  English  literature.  It  occurs  in  the 
last  number  of  the  Christian  Freeman.  ...  It  is  this  :  The  editor,  it  is 

presumed,  speaking  of  Mr.  H ,  says,  "  It  is  reported   that  he 

has  left  his  wife  and  is  wandering  about  with  a  '  she-creature,'  called 
his  affinity."  A  she-creature !  What  precision  in  that  term  !  Not  a 
woman,  with  no  matter  how  many  depreciating  epithets,  it  being 
impossible  so  to  eliminate  from  that  term  the  ideas  of  fidelity,  purity, 
beauty,  and  goodness  which  it  connotes  as  to  render  it  an  equivalent 
for  the  thing  denoted.   .   .   . 

Yours  foi'  the  purity  and  vigor  of  the  English  language, 

PROFESSOR. 

Dr.  Ballou  replied  as  follows  :  — 

Professor  Tweed. 

Dear  Sir, —  I  fully  agree  with  you  in  the  fact  that  our  friend  is 
felicitous,  beyond  any  other  living  author  I  know  of,  in  the  selection 
of  a  term  to  express  the  most  complicated  idea  in  just  the  light  that 
he  wishes ;  sometimes,  in  one  single  phrase  only,  out  of  the  many 
that  belong  to  it ;  sometimes,  in  all  the  possible  phrases,  philosophi- 
cal, political,  historical,  etymological,  theological,  economical,  poetical, 
nine-pencical,  or  blunderical,  which  it  admits.     With  him  (as  Byron 

says) — 

"  Words  are  things ;  and  a  small  drop  of  ink, 
Falling,  like  dew,  upon  a  thought,  produces  " 


WIT  AND   WISD03I.  205 

a  crystallization  of  it,  in  the  narrowest  compass,  and  at  just  that 
angle  which  answers  the  purpose.  It  is  what  Dr.  Johnson  somewhere, 
if  I  mistake  not,  calls  "  a  vigorous  contraction  of  thought"  by  means 
of  a  well-chosen  term. 

But  notwithstanding  that  I  so  fully  agree  with  you  in  the  fact,  and 
acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to  the  very  lucid  scholia  with  which 
you  have  illustrated  the  matter,  yet  I  look  at  the  fact  from  a  some- 
what different  standpoint ;  and  therefore  it  will  not  surprise  you  if  I 
am  interested  chiefly  in  some  other  excellences  than  those  you  have 
specified,  though  I  very  highly  appreciate  these  which  you  have 
pointed  out.  In  the  example  which  you  quote,  '•  she-creature,"  I  am 
struck,  first,  with  the  pure  grammatical  propriety  of  the  compound. 
It  is  according  to  the  primitive  style.  An  old  grammarian,  whose 
name  I  have  forgotten,  lays  it  down  expressly,  and  in  form,  that  the 
masculine  or  feminine  gender  is  sometimes  distinguished  by  pre- 
fixing he  or  she  to  the  substantive.  Perhaps  it  is  common  with 
grammarians,  even  at  the  present  day,  to  say  the  same.  But  as  I 
am  not  familiar  with  them,  I  repeat  only  what  I  distinctly  remember, 
that  one  of  them  lays  this  down  as  a  scientific  position.  And  Indeed, 
Webster  (whom  I  shall  take  for  ultimate  authority,  till  they  send  me 
Worcester,  when,  by  the  law  of  human  development,  I  shall  doubtless 
expand  anew,  —  as  I  have  once  or  twice  expanded  already,  —  witness 
my  old  lithograph  compared  with  later  ones) ,  —  I  say,  Webster  asserts 
that,  "  She  is  used,  in  composition,  for  female,  representing  sex,  as  a 
she-bear,  a  she-cat."  Now,  as  this  is  the  simplest  of  all  forms  to 
distinguish  sex,  I  take  it  to  have  been  the  primitive  form  ;  the  one 
that  was  originally  used  in  all  cases,  and  that  continued  to  be  used 
in  all  cases  till  some  additional  ideas,  the  growth  of  subsequent  and 
artificial  refinement,  became  associated  with  certain  objects  and 
personalities.  Even  in  our  present  sophisticated  state  we  continue  to 
use  the  primitive  form  about  everything  in  respect  to  which  our  ideas 
and  sentiments  remain  purely  primitive.  Nobody  ever  yet  said  a 
"  bearess,"  a  "  catess  "  ;  everybody  says,  directly  and  simply,  a  she- 
bear,  a  she-cat,  a  he-bear,  a  he-cat.  And  these  are  the  true  unsophis- 
ticated forms.     Should  it  be  objected  that  we  sometimes  say  "  Tom- 


206     •  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

cat,"  it  may  be  observed  that  this  is  evidentW  of  recent  origin,  and 
suggested  by  the  Christian  name  of  some  person  notorious  for  purring 
and  scratching.  I  admire  the  expression,  then,  as  an  example  of  the 
primitive  grammatical  form,  restored  to  us  in  our  factitious  age. 

And  in  the  next  place,  I  admire  it  for  the  austere  purity  of  the 
sentiment  it  enunciates.  God  forbid  that  we  should  say  anything 
against  those  tenderer  and  more  profoundly  respectful  sentiments 
to  which  we  have  attained  in  the  course  of  sixty  centuries,  and  which 
we  have  come  to  associate  so  intimately  with  the  name  of  woman. 
These  are  the  very  flowers  of  the  Tree  of  social  Life,  beautifying  the 
path  of  our  pilgrimage,  and  rendering  fragrant  all  the  atmosphere 
around  us.  But  in  order  to  preserve  even  these  flowers,  we  must 
pay  some  attention  to  the  more  unseemly  roots,  out  of  which  they, 
by  long  processes,  have  grown,  and  from  which  they  still  receive 
their  daily  vitality.  The  expression  quoted  points  us  back,  behind 
all  these  precious  outgrowths,  to  the  bald  fact,  stripped  of  all  senti- 
ment, whether  of  love  or  of  disgust,  of  contempt  or  of  respect,  of 
passion  or  of  indifference.  "  She-creature  !  "  that  is  the  everlasting 
granite,  standing  up  out  of  the  blooming  plains,  the  sighing  forests, 
and  all  the  "  rich  garniture  of  fields,"  of  which  it  is  at  once  the  founda- 
tion and  the  heaven-pointing  summit. 

"  She-creature  !  "  how  Hebraic  !  or  rather,  ante-Hebraic  !  grand  in 
its  severe  austerity,  and  filling  the  soul  with  an  awe  that  lifts  us 
above  all  other  feeling  !  It  expresses  neither  approval  nor  disap- 
proval ;  it  enunciates  only  the  Absolute.  Rare,  indeed,  is  the  genius 
that  can  fully  appreciate  this  excellence, —  which  I  do  not  pretend 
to  do ;  still  rarer  is  the  genius  that  can  recover  the  idea  from  the 
primitive  element  of  human  thought,  and  originate  anew  the  ex- 
pression of  it ! 

PR^X. 

After  an  "  interminable  Lent,"  in  December  1858,  —  the 
whole  week  "  a  protracted  Friday,"  —  Dr.  Ballon  wrote  for  Pro- 
fessor Tweed's  amusement 


WIT  AND    WISDOM.  207 

A  BORDER  ODE. 

Staple  food  on  Walnut  Hill ! 
Victual-fund,  for  drafts  at  will ! 
Ready  in  all  exigents, 
Minutenian  of  esculents, 
Substitute  for  every  dish,  — 
Hail,  all  hail  to  thee.  Salt  Fish ! 

When  the  rain  comes  pouring  down, 
And  no  market-carts  from  town, 
Naught  abroad  but  waving  gale. 
Streaming  hills  and  flooded  vale,  — 
"  What  for  dinner  do  you  wish?  " 
Asks  the  wife.     The  same,  —  Salt  Fish ! 

When  the  winter's  smothering  blow 

Drifts  the  roads  fence-high  with  snow, 

Shrouding  Nature  all  in  white. 

As  for  her  funereal  rite,  — 

If  a  dinner-thought  intrude 

On  our  awful  solitude. 

Can  we  feel  blue-devilish? 

Blest  resource  !  there  's  some  Salt  Fish ! 

Rain,  nor  snow,  nor  cold,  nor  heat 

May  disturb  our  high  retreat ; 

AH  within  is  cheery,  still. 

In  our  homes  on  Walnut  Hill. 

Does  a  friend,  or  guest,  drop  in 

Just  about  the  hour  to  dine  ? 

Though  the  larder  's  void,  what  matters? 

Out  with  cups,  and  knives,  and  platters, — 

Help  him,  till  no  more  he  wish. 

From  thy  bounty,  O  Salt  Fish  ! 

Thou,  of  eatables  the  chief! 
Whether  called  Atlantic  beef, 


208  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

Mutton,  caught  off  Newfoundland, 
Poultry,  served  on  ocean-strand, 
Venison,  from  the  shoaly  Banks,  — 
Still,  for  thee  we  render  thanks. 
O  thou  universal  dish, 
Hail,  all  hail  to  thee.  Salt  Fish ! 

Blessings  on  thy  face  antique,      * 

Mummy  ichthyologic  ! 

Drawn  from  caves  beneath  the  tides, 

Older  than  the  Pyramids  ! 

What  a  wizard-power  thou  hast ! 

Who  canst  make  us  feast  and  fast         * 

All  at  once,  — and  keep  our  Lent 

With  carnival  incontinent ; 

Making  all  time  Fridayish,  — 

Thaumaturgical  Salt  Fish ! 

Starr  King  used  to  say  that  had  these  lines  been  written  by 
Leigh  Hunt,  ••'  for  humor,  versification,  and  fancy,  they  would 
have  been  considered  as  one  of  his  best  effusions." 

In  the  beginning  of  the  Tufts  College  Library,  without  funds 
to  purchase  books,  Dr.  Ballou  became  Frater  Mendicus.  Almost 
in  despair,  he  repeatedly  "  called  on  Providence,"  —  witness  the 
following  letter  au  fait :  — 

Medford,  January  28,  1861. 

Dear  Brother,  —  Since  it  seems  likely  to  turn  out,  as  I  feared,  that 
there  are  no  books  in  Rhode  Island,  or  that,  if  there  be  any,  the 
people  there  do  not  know  what  they  are,  it  has  occurred  to  me,  while 
meditating  on  this  curious  phenomenon,  to  offer  a  statement,  which 
may  be  of  service  in  the  case.  Now,  books  are  things  in  the  form, 
usually,  of  a  parallelogram,  though  sometimes  square  ;  covered  on 
the  two  sides  and  on  the  back  with  leather,  or  cloth,  or  rarely  with 
paper,  drawn  tight  and  the  back  usually  lettered  with  gold  leaf, 
sometimes,  however,  with  common  printing  ink  on  paper.  Books  are 
opened  in  front,  the  backs  serving  as  sort  of  hinges  on  which  the 


WIT  AND    WISDOM.  209 

two  covers  turn.  While  they  have  this  general  form,  they  are  of 
various  sizes,  —  from  five  or  six  inches  long  and  three  or  four 
inches  wide,  to  two  feet  long  and  twelve  or  fourteen  inches  wide. 
Litemally,  they  consist  of  printed  leaves  of  paper,  sometimes  five 
hundred  of  these  leaves,  sometimes  only  a  few  of  them,  but  all 
fastened  at  the  back.  Should  anything  of  this  description  be  dis- 
covered in  Rhode  Island,  please  to  send  it  this  way  ;  for  it  is  prob- 
ably a  book. 

But  in  case  that  nothing  of  the  kind  can  be  discovered  there,  per- 
mit me  respectfully  to  submit  a  suggestion ;  namely,  that  you  send 
on  something  that  can.be  found  in  that  State  and  that  has  a  market- 
able value,  so  that  we  may  sell  it,  and,  with  the  proceeds,  buy  books 
here.  Are  not  cooking-stoves,  for  instance,  made  there?  If  so, 
send  on  a  number  of  them,  say,  twenty-five  or  thirty,  with  the  names 
of  the  donors  ;  and  the  books  that  we  obtain  here,  in  exchange,  shall 
have  those  names  as  the  donors  affixed  to  the  volumes  respectively,  to- 
gether with  mention  of  the  places  of  their  residences.  It  will  doubt- 
less astonish  visitors  to  the  Library  to  find  books  there  labeled  as 
having  come  from  Rhode  Island.  But  no  matter ;  we  will  keep  the 
secret.  Let  them  puzzle  over  it ;  it  will  be  amusing  to  mark  what 
hypothesis  they  will  get  up  to  account  for  it.   .   .   . 

There  is  one  thing  which  perplexes  me.  A  lady  who  said  she  was 
from  Providence,  and  I  took  it  to  be  Providence,  H.  I.,  told  me  last 
September  that  she  had  a  collection  of  Spanish  and  perhaps  French 
books,  which  she  wished  to  give  to  the  Library.  I  referred  her  to  you, 
as  one  who  would  very  cheerfully  take  charge  of  them  and  forward 
them  to  us.  It  seems  that  there  must  have  been  some  mistake,  as 
it  does  not  appear  that  anything  further  has  been  heard  or  seen  of 
her.  Was  it  the  Rhode  Island  Providence  where  she  belonged? 
She  was  a  widow;  her  husband  had  been  captain  of  a  vessel,  and 
traded,  I  think,  to  the  West  Indies,  or  at  least  to  some  of  the  Span- 
ish dominions.  It  really  seems  to  me  worth  inquiring  into,  whether 
there  be  this  collection  of  books  in  your  city,  in  Providence,  R.  /., 
and  if  there  is,  to  get  them  forwarded,  as  a  curiosity. 

They  will  be  a  new  feature  in  our  College  Library ;  for  as  yet  there 


210  EOSEA  BALLOU,   2d,   D.D. 

is  not  a  book  in  it  from  Rhode  Island;  no,  not  a  solitary  volume 
from  that  State.  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Massachusetts, 
Connecticut,  California,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  District  of  Colum- 
bia, North  Carolina,  and  Iowa  are  represented  in  it,  —  several  of  these 
States  by  some  hundreds  of  volumes  each.  Neither  Rhode  Island 
nor  South  Carolina  has  even  one  volume  in  the  Library. 

Yours  truly, 

FRATER  MENDICUS. 

In  the  following  letter  Dr.  Ballon  doffs  the  garb  of  mendicant 
friar,  and  asserting  his  prior  claims,  since  a  French  philosopher 
had  usurped  the  name  he  had  long  borne  among  his  intimates, 
again  signs  himself  "  Cousin  "  :  — 

OFFICIAL. 

Tufts  College,  May  5,  1855. 
To  our  well-beloved  Cousin,  William  H.  Richardson,  Esq. 

Dearly  Beloved,  —  Greatly  was  our  heart  gladdened  by  the  an- 
nouncement in  your  letter  that  a  gentleman  in  Maiden  would  be 
written  to,  instanter,  and  requested  to  send  a  catalogue  of  the 
library  in  that  place  to  our  address.  But,  alas  !  human  life  is  full 
of  disappointments  ;  our  gladness  has  subsided  and  turned  first  into 
the  painful  suspense  of  hope  delayed,  and  finally  into  the  horror  of 
despair,  as  day  after  day  passed  and  no  catalogue  came  to  hand. 
The  spu-its  have  been  consulted  on  the  cause  of  failure,  and  they 
declare  that  you  have  forgotten  to  write  on  the  business  to  Maiden. 
They  furthermore  affirm  (they  were  the  seven  spirits  of  Matthew 
Hale  Smith,  of  veracious  memory)  that  you  would  in  like  manner 
forget  to  call  on  the  Philadelphia  publishers  in  behalf  of  Tufts 
College  Library  ;  that  you  would  forget  to  communicate  on  the  sub- 
ject with  our  Brother  Collins,  and  that  the  whole  matter  would  lie 
undone  in  your  hands.  We  had  a  sharp  dispute  on  these  points 
with  the  aforesaid  spirits,  whom  we  accused  of  lying  with  a  rush ; 
and  when  they  stoutly  maintained  their  assertions,  we  consented  to 
leave  the  whole  matter  to  the  practical  decision  of  the  event,  on  the 


WIT  AND    WISDOM.  211 

following  terms,  which  they  accepted  in  black  and  white,  namely, 
that,  if  within  four  weeks  of  the  date  of  this,  you  shall  have  faith- 
fully performed  the  service  of  begging  agent  with  the  principal 
publishing  houses  of  your  city,  and  fully  discharged  all  the  precau- 
tionary, prudential,  importunative,  skilful,  come-rouud-them  like, 
wise-as-serpents  duties  incident  to  that  office,  and  given  us  formal 
notice  that  the  books  are  on  the  way,  or  at  least  secured,  then 
Matthew's  spirits  shall  be  considered  as  liars,  and  scouted  back  to 
the  Seventh  Sphere,  where  they  belong;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  if 
that  period  shall  elapse  and  no  such  results  accrue,  then  I  shall  be 
hooted  at  as  a  defamer  of  true  witnesses,  an  Unbeliever  in  Revela- 
tions, and  a  shameless  maligner  of  Matthew  the  Righteous.  Where- 
fore, beloved,  take  heed,  and  save  me  from  public  scorn  and  indigna- 
tion. Let  not  your  memory  give  you  the  slip,  nor  your  resolution 
faidiev.  Consider  the  saying  of  the  Wise  Man:  "Oh,  can  these 
things  be  slid  over  with  in  this  kind  o'  way  ? "  And  now,  dearly 
beloved,  farewell  for  a  short  season.  Trusting  that  we  shall  soon 
receive  a  thrice  welcome  report  of  your  gatherings,  I  have  the  honor 
to  be,  COUSIN. 

P.  S. — Being  an  excellent  hand  for  selecting  books  for  the  college 
from  private  libraries,  I  would,  if  it  be  any  accommodation  to  you, 
go  to  your  place  in  Maiden  and  take  such  of  your  books  as  I  think  it 
would  be  an  honor  to  you  to  give  to  Tufts.  Do  not  object  from 
any  fear  of  putting  me  to  trouble ;  I  assure  you  it  would  give  me  the 
greatest  pleasure  to  accommodate  you  in  this  way,  and  I  should 
regard  the  trouble  as  little  or  nothing.  Indeed,  if  I  do  not  soon 
hear  from  you  to  the  contrary,  I  will  take  your  silence  as  an  ear- 
nest request,  which  your  modesty  withholds  you  from  making  in 
direct  terms. 

July  31,  1845,  he  wrote  to  Rev.  T.  J.  Sawyer :  — 

"On  returning  from  a  journey  to  Vermont,  I  found  a  couple  of 
volumes  at  Tompkins',  directed  to  '  Quarterly,'  and  on  opening 
them  discovered  what  I  had  before  suspected,  that  I  was  become  a 
great  man,  though  I  had  had  no  thought  that  I  was  so  great.     For  I 


212  HOSEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

saw  that  I  was  honored  with  dedications  of  learned  works  by  learned 
authors,  members  of  foreign  historical  and  theological  societies,  and 
presidents  of  literary  institutions  that  will  soon  be  colleges.  Oh, 
that  you  could  have  seen  me  in  that  moment  of  magnification  !  The 
room  at  Tompkins',  which  I  used  to  think  spacious,  grew  at  once 
too  small  for  my  august  presence.  I  seemed  to  dilate,  till  I  filled  all 
Cornhill,  and  indeed  all  '  the  Literary  Emporium  of  the  East,'  and 
instead  of  walking  home,  as  I  had  been  wont,  through  dust  and  heat 
and  sweat,  an  undistinguished  traveler  on  a  lonely  road,  I  chartered 
a  train  of  cars  with  streamers  flying,  trumpets  sounding,  and  amidst 
the  thunder  of  artillery  entered  Medford  to  receive  the  acclamations 
of  the  thousands  who  lined  the  streets.  Forthwith,  it  was  resolved  to 
have  a  railroad  built  to  this  town,  and  the  route  is  now  under  survey." 

A  well-known  theologian  asked  Dr.  Ballou's  advice  on  receiv- 
ing a  call  to  Charlestown. 

"  I  see,  however,  that  you  are  troubled  with  the  difference  be- 
tween your  manner  of  preaching,  and  that  of  Brothers  Chapin  and 
King,"  he  replied.  "  I  think  this  very  difference  is  one  thing  which 
has  determined  the  minds  of  the  more  knowing  ones  at  Charlestown 
in  your  favor.  The  fact  is,  some  of  them,  at  least,  want  a  little  dry, 
tough,  stringy  meat  to  chew.  Soups,  high-flavored  soups,  are  good, 
very  good  in  their  place.  I  like  them.  They  warm  one's  stomach, 
after  one  has  lived  for  months  on  Graham  bread.  I  think  they  are 
then  wholesome,  decidedly  so,  and  help  to  '  develop '  one's  activities. 
But  after  soup  again,  a  little  solid  meat.  Pass  a  slice  this  way,  if 
you  please ;  the  folks  at  this  end  of  the  table  want  some." 

To  Dr.  Ballou's  pen  we  are  no  doubt  indebted  for  an  anony- 
mous article  in  his  vein  of  humor,  entitled  "  Absurdities  of 
Philological  Hypercriticism,"  which  was  published  in  the 
Quarterly  for  April,  1847.^  It  purports  to  be  a  "letter  to  the 
editor  "  from   Alt-Bauen   in   Hanover.     The  author  represents 

1  Pages  173-181 .  In  its  general  plan,  this  article  suggests  the  most  popular  of  the  works 
of  my  late  lamented  teacher,  Edouanl  Laboulaye,  long  at  the  head  of  the  College  de  France 
in  Paris,  namely,  "  Paris  en  Amerique,"  published  1863. 


WIT  AND    WISDOM.  213 

.  himself  to  be  a  tourist  who  finds  in  that  little  dorf,  or  village, 
"among  the  Harz  Mountains" — presumably  near  Teufel's 
Miihle,  Devil's  Mills  —  the  queerest  of  all  curiosities  he  had  met 
with,  a  "  little  company  of  monomaniac  philologers  who  have 
gathered  from  various  parts  of  Germany  "  and  formed  a  society 
called  the  Worter-Klauher-  Vereinigung .  His  friend,  "  honest 
Herr  Ludwig,"  introduces  him  to  the  society.  He  says: 
"Never  was  I  so  amused,  —  diverted  almost  into  convulsions, 
by  the  incredible  mixture  of  great  learning  with  stone-blind 
ignorance  of  things  and  of  the  world.  You  must  know  that 
their  only  science  is  that  of  words,  and  of  verbal  interpreta- 
tion." Under  the  pretence  of  discussing  American  prisons, 
the  article  is  an  admirable  caricature  of  certain  phases  of  theo- 
logical discussion  on  the  duration  of  punishment. 

Half  a  century  ago  two  anonymous  articles  in  the  Quarterly, 
from  Dr.  Ballou's  pen,  created  consternation  among  imitators 
of  Carlyle  :  — 

CHAPTERS   FROM   CARLYLE,   THE  YOUNGER.i 

"Ein  grosses  Muster  weckt"  —  Papageyung— Schiller. 

"  Perhaps  the  sorriest,  certainly  the  mournfulest,  thing  in  this 
monstrous-fecund  literature  of  our  Ninteenth  Century  of  Grace, 
is  the  Evangel  of  Parrotry.  '  Thou  shalt  parrotize  ! '  Heard 
man,  ever,  a  stranger,  awf uler  best  ?  Thou  shalt  not  speak,  as 
a  Man,  from  thine  own  heart  and  understanding,  in  such  words 
as  thine  own  spirit  clothes  itself  withal ;  thou  shalt  speak  as  a 
Parrot  from  another's  heart  and  understanding.  With  infinite 
grimace  shalt  thou  bring  that  wide,  bill-less  mouth  of  thine  to 
peak  out,  and  to  utter  his  words  with  his  tone  and  cadence,  and 
make  thyself,  to  the  best  of  thy  limited  ability,  a  Parrot.  Would 
thou  hadst  feathers,  and  wert  green,  as  thy  brother  Orator 
of  the  woods !     Then  thou  wert,  at  least,  a  reality,  though  on 

1  Quarterly,  July,  1844,  pp.  324-326;  April,  1845,  pp.  214-217. 


214  HOSEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

a  small  scale,  yet  of  Nature's  own  forming ;  and  not  a  simu- 
lacrum. 

"  O  reader,  dost  thou  not  often  meet  with  these  huge,  six- 
feet-high  Brobdignag  Parrots,  seeming  to  the  outward  sense 
like  Men,  and  speaking  so  like  Men  as  to  move  thy  wonder  at 
the  verisimilitude,  and  almost  to  excite  thine  admiration,  as  of 
something  divine  ?  Even  as  now  I  see,  at  that  open  window, 
down  in  the  Gansstrasse  yonder,  my  neighbor's  Parrot  hath 
drawn  together  an  admiring  audience  to  her  Praelections  this 
morning,  —  whom  she  edifies,  after  a  fashion.  Look!  how  the 
urchins,  old  and  young,  press  forward  to  catch  '  poor  Poll's ' 
utterance  ;  to  them  a  miraculous  and  divine  word  !  how  their 
eyes  stand  out  sparkling,  how  their  uncontainable  glee  bursts 
forth,  their  souls  stirred  to  their  inmost  depths,  by  her  speech, 
so  human-like  !  while  the  conversation  of  two  real  Men  at  the 
opposite  corner  is,  I  see,  passed  by  unheeded;  according  to 
universal  law  of  urchinhood!  Thank  God  for  making  Par- 
rots !  it  is  the  cheapest  way  we  have  heard  of,  to  provide  us 
with  Hero-worship,  of  a  kind." 

So  Dr.  Ballou  begins  the  first  chapter. 

The  second  chapter  from  "  Carlyle  the  Younger "  begins 
with  the  motto, 

"'Eritis  sicut  Dii.'  — Die  Schlange." 

We  have  space  to  quote  only  one  paragraph :  — 
"  Thou  thinkest,  it  may  be,  that  Man  is  yet,  as  formerly,  a 
Worm-of-the-dust,  beholden  as  heretofore  to  some  little  speck 
of  solid  Ground  for  foothold,  quite  Finite  in  his  Ablenesses, 
groping  his  way  painfully  through  the  Immense-obscure  with 
uncertain  skill  and  dim  vision,  and  needing  Blessed  Guides  from 
above  to  lead  him  into  Heaven's  light.  Dearest  Reader,  I  can- 
not but  smile  at  thy  simplicity! — all  this  was  done  away,  some 
half-dozen  3^ears  ago,  if  I  read  aright.     Look  narrowly ;  thou 


WIT  AND    WISDOM.  215 

shalt  see,  now  iu  process,  the  queerest  Transformation  under 
the  sun  :  Humanity  (I  think  they  call  it)  passing  from  its 
old  Grub-state  into  a  tiny  Firefly,  with  a  pair  of  nascent 
wings ;  for  flight  rather  sublime.  Wonderfulest  to  behold ! 
sundry  of  the  Species  already  out,  —  soaring  moonward,  buoyed 
up  on  empty  Aether,  disporting  themselves  in  the  Azure  Void 
with  rapid  circumgyrations,  somersaults,  and  convolutions, 
hitherto,  thitherto,  innumerable,  untraceable;  while  others, 
down  yonder,  have  got  as  far  as  the  Chrysalis,  and  but  few  are 
left  in  the  Vermiform  condition,  —  memorials  of  what  was.  Mi- 
raculousest  Palingenesia,  going  on  before  our  eyes,  and  yet  we 
mark  it  not !  for  want  of  suitable  microscopes,  which,  it  is 
hoped,  we  shall  be  furnished  with,  in  due  time.  To  see  Men, 
not  'as  trees  walking,'  but  as  little-gods,  or  godicules, 
aerializing ! " 


CHAPTER   XI. 

STUDENTS    IN   THEOLOGY. 

A  FEATURE  of  the  home  life  at  Roxbury.  and  Medford  was 
the  presence  of  young  men  who  were  preparing  for  the  Univer- 
salist  ministry.  The  fact  that  Hosea  Ballon,  2d,  was  prepared 
to  receive  such  students  was  made  known  through  the  columns 
of  the  annual  Register  ^  and  other  publications  in  the  follow- 
ing language :  "  Rev.  H.  Ballou,  2d,  receives  students  for  the 
ministry  into  his  own  house  for  instruction  in  the  languages, 
Biblical  criticism,  etc." 

About  twelve  years  after  he  first  engaged  in  this  work  he 
published  a  "  Course  of  Biblical  and  Theological  Study "  in 
1839.^  He  did  so  "  after  long  hesitation,  and  with  a  degree 
of  reluctance,"  having  entertained  the  hope  "that  some  of 
our  brethren  would  undertake  it,  whose  early  advantages  and 
regular  education  better  qualified  them  for  the  work."  It  was 
"intended  to  embrace  a  course  of  three  years,"  but  could 
be  "  easily  modified  to  any  shorter  period,"  and  it  "  laid  down, 
in  addition  to  the  regular  studies,  certain  courses  of  read- 
ing to  be  pursued  if  'convenient,'"  or  "in  subsequent  life." 
For  the  convenience  of  non-resident  students,  who  might  plan 
to  study  at  home,  and  wished  first  to  count  the  cost,  he  annexed 
to  the  titles  of  books  "  the  regular  bookstore  prices,  in  dollars 
and  cents." 

The  "  Course  "  is  systematically  arranged  under  nine  sec- 
tions, and,  to  be  brief,  comprises :  — 

1  The  Register  was  originally  compiled  by  Eev.  A.  B.  Grosh,  and  published  at  Utica, 
N.Y. 

2  See  Expositor,  September,  1839,  pp.  351-361. 

216 


STUDENTS  IN  THEOLOGY.  217 

(1)  Hebrew  Language^  "  with  the  points,"  —  beginning  with 
Leixa's  or  Burk's  Grammar,  Robinson's  Gesenius,  or  Gibbs' 
Lexicon,  and  Hahn's  Hebrew  Bible,  or  at  the  outset,  Stuart's 
Hebrew  Chrestomathy. 

(2)  Biblical  Criticism^  —  Home's  or  Jahn's  Introduction, 
Robinson's  Calmet,  Gerard's  Institutes,  and  Marsh's  Lectures. 

(3)  Careful  Reading  of  the  English  Bible,  in  course,  and 
attempts  at  expounding,  "  with  particular  reference  to  the  con- 
text and  continuity  of  thought." 

(4)  Scripture  Gieography,  — •  Worcester's  Outlines,  geograph- 
ical articles  in  Robinson's  Calmet,  the  Modern  Traveler,  Maun- 
dell's  Journey  from  Aleppo  to  Jerusalem,  Buckingham's 
Travels  in  Mesopotamia,  Sir  Robert  Kerr  Porter's  Travels  in 
Armenia,  Babylonia,  etc. 

(5)  History,  —  Jahn's  History  of  the  Hebrew  Common- 
wealth, Milman's  History  of  the  Jews,  Turner's  Sacred  His- 
tory of  the  World,  Abbott's  edition  of  Carpenter's  Script. 
Natural  History, 

(6)  Septuagint,  — •  Van  Ess'  edition,  Donnegan's  or  Lever- 
ett's  Greek  Lexicon,  Fiske's  Greek  Grammar,  Griesbach's 
Greek  Testament  or  Bloomfield's  New  Testament. 

(7)  Biblical  Archaeology,  —  Jahn's  or  Home's. 

(8)  Biblical  Criticism,  —  Gerard  and  Marsh,  and  on  Hebrew 
Poetry,  Lowth's  Lectures  and  Dissertation,  Noyes'  Prophets, 
De  Witte's  Introduction,  Herder's  Spirit  of  Hebrew  Poetry,  and 
article  Poetry  in  Calmet. 

(9)  Interpretation  of  Scripture,  —  Stuart's  or  Terrot's  Trans- 
lation of  Ernesti's  Elements  of  Interpretation,  Ballou's  or 
Whittemore's  Notes  on  the  Parables,  Balfour's  First  Inquiry, 
Paige's  Selections  from  Eminent  Commentators,  and  "  with 
caution,"  Dr.  A.  Clarke's,  Barnes'  Notes,  Whitby,  etc. 

(10)  Ecclesiastical  History,  —  Gieseler,  Neander,  and  Mo- 
sheim. 


218  HO  SEA  BALLOU,   2d,   D.D. 

(11)  Dogmatic  History^  —  Murdock's  translation  of  Miin- 
scher's  Elements  of  Dogmatic  History,  Ancient  and  Modern 
Histories  of  Universalism,  and  Priestley's  History  of  Corrup- 
tions of  Christianity  (caution  —  "•  both  superficial  and  partial "). 

(12)  Natural  Theology^  —  Paley,  Lord  Brougham's  Discourse, 
Goode's  Book  of  Nature,  and  works  on  Astronomy,  Geology, 
and  Physiology  (e.g.  Coombe). 

(13)  Evidences  of  Revealed  Religion^  —  Lardner,  Paley, 
Thayer,  Alexander,  Jenyns,  and  Wiseman. 

(14)  Pastoral  Duties. 

(15)  Composition  of  Sermons.,  —  Porter's  Lectures  to  be 
"  used  only  as  helps,"  writing  and  delivery,  in  public  or  private 
(last  half  of  course). 

(16)  Examination  of  the  Character  and  Errors  of  the  common 
Orthodoxy.,  so  called,  —  the  Presbyterian  Confession  of  Faith, 
and  Buck  for  Old-School  Orthodoxy,  Stuart's  Commentary  on 
Romans  V,  New  Haven  Christian  Spectator,  and  Barnes'  Notes 
for  New-School  Orthodoxy,  and  "in  contrast  with  both 
schemes,  but  chiefly  with  the  old,"  Smith  on  Divine  Govern- 
ment, Ballou's  Treatise  on  the  Atonement,  and  Lecture  Ser- 
mons, several  articles  in  the  Expositor,  Sawyer's  Letters  to 
Remington,  Thomas  and  Ely  Discussion,  Balfour's  First  In- 
quiry, and  Whittemore's  Notes  on  the  Parables.  The  "  Course  " 
concludes  with  suggestions  for  the  study  of  the  History  of 
Philosophy. 

Levi  Ballou. 

While  teaching  in  his  brother's  private  school  in  Roxbury, 
Levi  Ballou  became  the  first  student  in  theology  of  Hosea 
Ballou,  2d. 

In  childhood  he  had  received  instruction  at  the  same  little 
red  schoolhouse,  and  later  had  ridden  the  same  "  black  mare 
with  three  white  feet "  to  Mr.  Wood's  house,  to  learn  there  the 


LEVI  BALLOU.  219 

elements  of  a  classical  education.  He  was  a  taller,  larger  man 
than  his  brother  Hosea,  of  darker  complexion,  resembling  more 
the  Ballous  than  the  Starrs.  Like  Hosea  Faxon  Ballon,  eldest 
son  of  Father  Ballon,  Levi  Ballon  did  not  begin  preaching 
young.  Indeed,  he  was  always  a  very  warm  friend  of  Hosea 
Faxon  Ballon,  seven  years  his  senior,  who  had  his  first  settle- 
ment of  twenty-five  years  in  the  hill  town  of  Whitingham, 
adjoining  Halifax,  and  to  him  Levi  submitted  his  first  sermon 
for  criticism.  "  And  you  want  me  to  criticise  it  ?  "  said  Hosea 
Faxon,  after  Levi  had  read  it  through  aloud.  "  There  is  only 
one  fault  I  find  with  it ;  if,  instead  of  sewing  a  seam  on  the 
edge,  you  sew  it  through  and  through"  (suiting  the  action 
to  the  word),  "  it  will  lie  down  better  on  the  desk."  That 
was  his  criticism  !  On  his  formal  entry  into  the  ministry  Levi 
also  studied  and  preached  on  a  circuit  with  his  younger 
brother,  William  Starr  Ballou. 

After  itinerating  from  Hartland  and  Randolph,  Vt.,  and  brief 
settlements  at  Chester,  Vt.,  and  Newport,  N.  H.,  Levi  Ballou, 
having  married  the  previous  year,  settled  in  midsummer,  1843, 
as  minister  of  the  "First  Parish  of  Orange,"  a  beautifully 
located  hill  town  in  northern  Massachusetts,  known  in  recent 
years,  since  the  growth  of  a  larger  manufacturing  village  five 
miles  away,  in  the  south  part  of  the  town,  on  the  Fitchburg 
Railroad,  as  North  Orange.  It  is  nine  miles  from  Richmond, 
N.  H.,  where  the  first  Hosea  Ballou  was  born  and  reared,  and 
here  as  a  young  man  he  preached  and  often  visited  as  long  as 
he  lived.  As  early  as  a.d.  1800  it  was  a  stronghold  of  Uni- 
versalism,  when  the  General  Convention  of  Universalists  met 
here,  with  Hosea  Ballou  as  clerk.  In  1803  the  society  sent 
Ebenezer  Cheney  as  its  lay  delegate  to  the  General  Convention 
at  Winchester,  N.  H.,  twelve  miles  away,  when  the  Win- 
chester Confession  was  adopted.  Here  Hosea  Ballou,  2d, 
came  every  summer,  coming  often  unannounced,  to  remain  a 


220  HO  SEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

week,  perhaps  two  weeks,  for  many  years,  and  he  often 
preached  from  the  high  pulpit  in  the  large,  old-fashioned  parish 
church,  with  the  box  pews,  and  the  galleries  on  four  sides  filled 
with  attentive  worshipers.  After  more  than  a  century  of 
service  ^  the  church  is  still  standing,  in  an  excellent  state  of 
preservation,  and  bids  fau-  to  do  service  for  another  century. 

It  is  one  of  the  few  instances  where  practically  the  whole 
population  early  discarded  orthodox  theology  and  became 
Universalists  en  masse,  taking  the  church  building  with  them, 
so  that  to  this  day  the  few  worshipers  of  a  revengeful  God 
worship  in  a  small  building  which  is  known  as  "  the  chapel." 
The  excellent  reputation  the  town  has  borne  for  neighborly 
helpfulness  and  sturdy  morality  does  credit  to  the  Universalist 
faith,  intelligently  and  earnestly  interpreted,  as  a  standard  of 
correct  living. 

Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  always  brought  a  few  good  books  lately 
from  press  to  read  ;  and  late  in  life  especially,  his  strength 
exhausted,  he  would  sit  in  the  great  armchair  and  read  and  fall 
into  a  doze,  and  after  a  few  minutes,  suddenly  rousing  himself, 
he  would  walk  up  and  down,  back  and  forth,  in  front  of  the 
house,  with  the  splendid  panorama  spread  out  before  him  from 
the  hills  of  Warwick  and  Richmond  and  Grand  Monadnock  in 
the  north,  with  Tully  Mountain  in  the  foreground,  two  large 
sheets  of  water  and  a  thriving  manufacturing  village  at  its 
base,  and  beyond  the  broad  valley,  six  miles  away  to  the  east, 
the  long  range  of  Royalston  hills,  the  counterpart  of  North 
Orange  hill,  stretching  away  to  the  south,  with  scarcely  an 
obstruction  to  the  view,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  until  lost 
in  the  dim  summits  of  Petersham  and  Phillipston.  He  was 
refreshed  and  delighted  with  this  view.  Then  back  to  the 
great  armchair  and  his  books  for  an  hour,  when  the  promenade 
was  repeated.     With  a  clear  atmosphere    the    view    from   the 

1  It  was  built  in  1783,  marking  the  centre  of  the  new  town. 


LEVI  BALLOU.  221 

Levi  Ballou  house  of  Mount  Monadnock,  twenty  miles  away, 
from  its  summit  down  to  the  white  "  halfway  house,"  and  on 
down  to  its  very  base,  is  superb.  Grand  Monadnock  was  the 
first  high  mountain  that  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  ever  climbed ;  as  a 
child  he  knew  it,  and  he  always  felt  a  certain  gratitude  toward 
it  for  arousing  in  him  a  grand  enthusiasm  for  rugged  mountain 
scenery. 

With  his  home  in  the  "  First  Parish  of  Orange  "  as  a  centre, 
for  twenty-two  years  Rev.  Levi  Ballou  was  a  sort  of  bishop  of 
the  whole  country  around  in  the  radius  of  about  twenty-five 
miles,  extending  north  to  Richmond  and  Westmoreland,  N.  H., 
east  to  Westminster,  south  to  Dana  ^  and  Hardwick,  and  west 
to  Bernardston  ^  and  Ashiield,  Mass.  For  twenty-two  years  he 
drove  over  the  hills  and  through  the  valleys  of  this  region,  early 
and  late,  in  the  heat  of  summer  and  in  the  bleak  storms  of 
winter,  for  little  pay,  often  for  none,  to  preach  the  gospel  of  the 
universal  Father,  to  solemnize  marriages,  to  give  consolation 
at  the  hour  of  death — always  an  eminently  useful  public 
servant.  As  one  reviews  it  now  he  is  astounded  at  the  vast 
amount  of  work  that  Levi  Ballou  did  in  his  "  bishopric,"  and 
the  enormous  distances  he  traveled  with  a  horse ;  but  he 
always  owned  a  good  horse,  in  those  days  an  indispensable 
adjunct  of  his  office.  "  Clear-minded,  gentle,  and  3^et  forcible 
was  he,"  says  Rev.  Dr.  J.  G.  Adams,  "  making  good  proof  of 
his  ministry "  ^  Two  young  men  in  his  parish  who  stud- 
ied with  him  became  widely  known  as  Universalist  preach- 
ers; namely.  Rev.  Jonathan  Forrester,  D.D.,  and  Rev.  Sumner 
Ellis,  D.D.  Himself  an  earnest  student  and  many  years  a 
successful  teacher,  he  always  took  a  deep  interest  in  education. 
In  Orange  for  twenty  years,  till  the  time  of  his  death,  he  was 

1  Where  Hosea  Ballou,  senior,  was  first  settled. 

2  Where  David  Ballou  and  the  two  Hosea  Ballous  were  the  means  of  forming  the 
Franklin  County  Association  of  Uuiversaliste,  October  10, 1822. 

3 "  Fifty  Notable  Years,"  p.  96. 


222  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

one  of  the  committee  elected  to  visit  the  public  schools, 
usually  its  chairman ;  he  was  a  trustee  of  New  Salem 
Academy,  and  he  felt  a  deep  interest  in  the  foundation  of 
Tufts  College. 

In  his  annual  report,  October  15,  1846,  Horace  Mann,  then 
Secretary  of  the  Massachusetts  Board  of  Education,  makes  the 
following  quotation  from  Levi  Ballou's  report  as  chairman  of 
the  Orange  School  Committee :  "  In  closing  our  report,  we 
would  say  that  no  one  can  overestimate  the  importance  of 
common  schools.  To  them  are  committed  the  training  of  those 
minds  that  are  to  be  our  statesmen  and  rulers,  and  who  are  to 
give  character  and  stability  to  our  government  and  its  various 
institutions.  And  if  parents  cannot  bequeath  legacies  of  wealth 
to  their  children,  they  can  give  them  what  is  far  better,  a  good 
education  and  principles  of  sound  morality.  With  these  they 
can  do  more  for  themselves,  and  for  the  good  of  the  world, 
than  though  they  possessed  the  wealth  of  the  Indies  and  were 
destitute  of  these  important  qualifications."  ^  And  in  his  report 
for  1859,  Mr.  Ballou  urges  "  the  importance  of  more  attention 
in  many  of  our  schools  to  good  manners  and  morals  and  pure- 
ness  of  speech,  that  there  grow  not  up  among  us  a  class  of 
reckless,  irreverent  youth ;  believing  that  the  prosperity  and 
welfare  of  the  individual,  as  well  as  the  stability  of  our  insti- 
tutions, rest  more  upon  the  virtue  of  the  people  than  upon  the 
training  of  the  mind  to  mere  intellectual  force."  ^ 

With  his  brother,  William  Starr,  as  a  partner,  he  was  largely 
interested  late  in  life  in  Illinois  real  estate.  He  proved  to  be 
not  only  a  good  preacher,  but  a  prudent,  far-sighted  business 
man.  October  27,  1865,  he  passed  away.  He  was  a  true  man. 
Honored  and  loved,  he  found  contentment  in  his  sphere  of 
usefulness.  He  was  twice  married,  first  to  Mary  Chase,  second 
to  Elvira   B.  Goodell,  and  of  his  seven  children  five  survive, 

1 "  Report  of  Massachusetts  Board  of  Education,"  1846,  p.  215.       ^Ibid.,  1859,  p.  168. 


HOSEA  STAKR  BALLOU. 
[From  "Massachusetts  of  To-day,"  page  158.] 


willia:h  stare  ballou.  223 

two  daughters  and  three  sons,  of  whom  Maturiii  Baliou  of 
New  York,  and  Hosea  Starr  Ballou  of  Boston,  have  devoted 
their  attention  to  financial  interests,  and  Rev.  William  Ballou, 
of  Fargo,  is  esteemed  a  sort  of  bishop  of  Liberal  Christian 
faith  for  the  whole  State  of  North  Dakota. 

William   Starr   Ballou. 

The  next  younger  brother  of  Rev.  Levi  Ballou  was  also  in 
the  early  thirties  a  student  of  theology  with  Hosea  Ballou,  2d, 
at  Roxbury.i  William  Starr  Ballou,  born  at  Halifax,  Vt., 
September  17,  1808,  in  what  environment  we  have  seen,  was 
first  settled  six  years  as  a  Universalist  minister  at  Hartland, 
Vt.,  then  at  Randolph,  West  Brattleboro,  Springfield,  a  second 
time  at  West  Brattleboro,  at  Strafford,  Vt.,  at  Cheshire,  Mass., 
and  at  Galesburg,  Chillicothe,  and  Sheffield,  111.  Like  liis 
two  older  brothers  above  named,  he  never  enjoyed  robust 
health,  but  he  was  more  vigorous  and  demonstrative  than 
either  of  them  in  his  pulpit  utterances,  and  it  has  been  well 
said  of  him  that  "  Whoever  listened  •  to  his  preaching  had 
the  privilege  of  hearing  the  discussion  of  important  themes  in 
clear  and  concise  reasoning."  He  was  a  frequent  contributor 
to  Universalist  periodicals.^  For  several  years  he  was  standing 
clerk  of  the  Vermont  State  Convention  of  Universalists  (1842- 
1846),  and  he  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  establishment  by  the 
Goodenough  brothers,  in  1847,  and  the  prosperity  of  Melrose 
Seminary  at  West  Brattleboro,  a  half  century  ago  an  emi- 
nently useful  denominational  school.  He  was  also  instru- 
mental in  the  founding  of  Lombard  University  at  Galesburg, 
111.,  in  1856,  and  in  adding  to  its  financial  resources. 

The  following  letter  from  him  gives  us  a  glimpse  of  life  at 
Melrose  Seminary :  — 

1  The  fourth  Sunday  in  May,  1832,  he  first  preached  at  Roxbury. 

2See,  for  example,  Universalist  Miscellany,  April,  1840,  pp.  449-454;  July,  1847,  pp. 
24-28;  and  June,  1818,  pp.  455-4.'J8. 


224  HOSE  A  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

West  Brattleboro,  August  17,  1849. 

Dear  Brother,  —  Yours  has  been  received  a  few  clays,  and  I  would 
say  in  respect  to  board,  that  the  two  young  ladies  from  Orange  can 
board,  if  they  please,  at  Mr.  Stockwell's,  where  Harriet  boards 
(Hosea's  Harriet) ,  and  have  the  same  accommodations  for  the  same 
price.  I  consider  this  a  first-rate  boarding  place.  They  will  give 
up  their  parlor  and  parlor  bedroom,  and  another  sleeping-room  in 
the  chamber  for  four  boarders  —  the  parlor  to  be  occupied  by  the 
four  alike  —  besides  each  two  boarders  having  a  room  for  their  own 
to  study  and  sleep  in.  But  the  parlor  is  the  only  room  in  which  they 
will  have  a  fire,  which  will  not  be  needed,  only  now  and  then,  until 
the  latter  part  of  the  term.  Harriet  and  Brother  Curtis'  daughter, 
from  Medford,  I  have  engaged  board  for  there,  at  $1.50  per  week, 
and  the  scholars  find  their  own  lights  and  do  their  own  washing. 
Mr.  Stockwell  finds  what  wood  they  will  want.  The  rooms  are  well 
furnished  and  pleasant. 

This  I  presume  is  as  cheap  as  good  board  and  good  rooms  can  be 
obtained  near  the  school.  We  have  advertised  to  board  for  $1.25  to 
$1.50.  We  mean  by  this,  as  usual  by  such  advertisements  when 
nothing  contrary  is  stated,  so  much  for  mere  board,  while  fire- 
wood, lights,  and  washing  are  extra.   .   .   . 

Uncle  Hosea  Ballon,  from  Boston,  was  here  and  preached  for  me 
last  Sabbath  on  his  way  to  Whitingham.  He  was  well,  and  calcu- 
lated to  spend  two  Sabbaths  more  while  up,  before  he  returns  to 
Boston.  Hosea  F.  Ballon  came  here  on  Sunday  night  and  carried 
him  to  Whitingham,  otherwise  I  should  have  done  it.   .  .  . 

Yours  truly,  W.  S.  BALLOU. 

Rev.  Levi  Ballou. 

lu  the  early  fifties,  while  still  living  in  New  England,  he 
became  financially  interested  in  Illinois  real  estate,  through  his 
brothers.  Judge  Martin  Ballou  and  Dr.  Alvin  Ballou,  at  Prince- 
ton, 111.,  and  by  increase  in  land  values,  as  well  as  by  thrift 
and  good  business  judgment,  he  accumulated  a  considerable 
estate. 


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WILLIAM  STAEE   BALLOU.  225 

Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  once  wrote  to  his  brother  Levi :  — 

"  They  say  that  Brother  WilUam  has  made  heaps  o'  money,  a 
great  fortune,  out  iu  Ilhnois.  Brother  Skinuer,  who  saw  him  at 
Galesburg  iu  May,  says  he  is  estimated  at  $75,000,  —  rather  hirge,  1 
guess.  But  if  he  is  worth  $50,000,  or  even  half  that  sum,  he 
might  just  as  well  hang  up  his  fiddle  and  enjoy  his  ease,  as  to  keep 
on  w'earing  himself  out  with  fever  and  ague,  travel,  and  business. 
I  am  going  to  write  to  him  to  this  purport  iu  a  few  days.  But 
if  he  has  got  $75,000  it  will  be  of  no  use  to  advise  him  to  stop, 
—  there'll  be  no  whoa  to  him  ;  he'll  be  crazy  for  $100,000,  and  then 
for  $200,000,  and  so  on,  till  he  lose  the  whole,  and  then  he'll  be 
contented  again." 

He  never  married.  The  last  few  years  of  his  life  he  lived  on 
his  large  farm  of  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  near  Manlius, 
and,  by  frequent  trips  from  there  to  Chicago  and  elsewhere, 
personally  superintended  his  affairs.  There  he  died  Thursday, 
August  31,  1865,  and  his  ashes  rest  at  Princeton,  111. 

Matthew  Hale  Smith. 

The  fifth  Sunday  in  August,  1829,  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  preached 
in  Watertown,  and  against  the  date  in  his  record  he  made  this 
memorandum :  "  Matt.  Smith  at  Roxbury."  It  is  the  first 
mention  we  find  of  M.  H.  Smith,  some  time  a  student  in  his 
family,  and  a  son  of  Rev.  Elias  Smith.  Like  Ms  father,  he  was 
a  "changeling,"  and  after  brief  settlements  in  Guilford,  Vt., 
Hartford,  Conn.,  Quincy,  Haverhill,  and  Salem,  Mass.,  he  had, 
in  1840,  renounced  Orthodoxy  twice  and  Universalism  twice, 
every  last  change  having  been  due,  as  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
saying,  to  an  "  unbalanced  mind."  He  finally,  in  1841,  with- 
drew from  the  Universalist  ministry,  but  as  was  then  claimed 
not  for  disbelief.^     The  following  year,  however,  he  published 

^  See  Universalist  Companion  and  Register  for  1S41,  p.  61. 


226  ROSEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

a  volume  of  shameful  slanders  of  Universalists,  and  the  Ortho- 
dox at  once  flooded  the  country  with  copies  of  the  book  ^  upon 
the  theory  that  "  All  is  fair  in  the  warfare  against  Univer- 
salists." In  1846  the  book  was  reviewed  at  length  by  Rev. 
L.  C.  Browne,^  against  the  advice  of  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  and 
others,  however,  whose  "  contempt  of  the  man  led  them  to 
think  him  unworthy  of  notice."^  A  "false-hearted,  unscrupu- 
lous, dishonest  man,"  whom  the  Universalists  had  disciplined 
for  lying,  his  conduct  was  a  source  of  grief  and  mortification 
to  his  former  teacher,  who  sometimes  alludes  to  him  in  his 
letters  as  the  "  veracious  Matthew  Hale  Smith."  The  prejudice 
created  by  M.  H,  Smith's  writings  still  exists  in  the  minds  of 
many,  notwithstanding  "his  conduct  is  the  most  convincing 
argument  that  can  be  adduced  in  favor  of  total  depravity."* 
Even  his  son,  a  reputable  professional  man  in  Athol,  Mass., 
had  his  name  legally  changed  to  escape  the  obloquy  attaching 
to  the  name  M.  H.  Smith. 

Thomas  Starr  King. 

Perhaps  the  most  brilliant  and  best  known  of  the  students 
of  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  and  certainly  the  one  with  whom,  so  long 
as  he  lived,  he  was  on  the  terms  of  the  closest  intimacy  —  his 
brothers  Levi  and  William  Starr  excepted — was  Thomas  Starr 
King.  Born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  December  17,  1824,  his 
father,  Thomas  Farrington  King,  was  a  Universalist  clergyman, 
then  living  at  Norwalk,  Conn. ;  his  mother,  Susan,  was  at  the 
time  visiting  the  family  of  Thomas  Starr,  her  father.  The 
Kings  were  of  English  descent ;  Thomas  Starr,  it  has  been 
claimed,  was  of  German  descent,^  but  it  appears  to  us  extremely 

1 1  was  lately  surprised  to  find  two  copies  of  the  book  in  a  small  town  library. 

2  A  volume  of  360  pages,  published  by  A.  Tompkins,  Boston. 

3 Universalist  Miscellany,  vol.  IV  (1847),  p.  479.  •>  Ibid.,  vol.  IV  (1847),  p.  480. 

5  See  "A  Tribute  to  Thomas  Starr  King,"  by  Richard  Frothingham,  pp.  10,  178,  179. 
Stan-  King  wittily  cites  the  German  adjective  sta7-r,  stiff,  unyielding;  also  see  "  Memoir 
Of  Thomas  Starr  King,"  by  Edwin  P.  Whipple,  p.  viii. 


THOMAS  STABB   KING.  227 

probable  that  this  Thomas  Starr  was  from  Danbiiry,  Conn.,  and 
was  descended  in  the  fourth  generation  from  Dr.  Thomas  Starr, 
surgeon  in  the  Pequot  war,  the  eldest  son  of  Dr.  Comfort 
Starr,  from  whom  also  Hosea  Ballon,  2d,  was  descended.^  Starr 
King,  like  his  teacher,  may  be  said  to  have  had  the  intellectual 
traits  of  the  Starr  family. 

T.  F.  King  was  called  to  the  large  Universalist  society  at 
Charlestown,  Mass.,  and  there,  in  the  public  schools,  Starr  was 
under  the  tuition  of  Mr.  William  D.  Swan,  later  o'f  Mr.  Joshua 
Bates.  Mr.  Bates  says  of  him :  '•  The  chief  distinguishing 
characteristic  of  his  school  life  consisted  in  his  sincerity,  purity 
of  heart,  honesty  of  purpose,  and  uniformly  gentlemanly  de- 
portment." In  youth,  as  at  maturity,  "his  beaming  eye,  his 
expressive  face  "  made  a  deep  impression.  He  began  to  fit  for 
college  with  the  ministry  in  view  as  his  profession,  but  his 
father  was  suffering  from  a  deep-seated  disease,  and  was  in  so 
straitened  pecuniary  circumstances  that  the  boy  was  placed  in 
a  dry-goods  store  in  Charlestown.  He  never  returned  to  school, 
for  in  September,  1839,  his  father  died.  Left  at  fifteen  the 
mainstay  of  his  mother  and  five  younger  children,  his  earnings 
from  now  on  contributed  to  the  support  of  the  family.  He 
was  faithful  to  his  employer,  but  he  did  not  forget  his  mission. 
He  organized  a  debating  and  dramatic  club,  and  the  practice 
there  gained  proved  invaluable  to  him  in  after  years. 

His  father's  successor  in  Charlestown  was  Rev.  Edwin  H. 
Chapin.  He  became  Starr  King's  lifelong  friend.  Another 
lifelong  friend  was  Benjamin  F.  Tweed,  then  principal  of  the 
Bunker  Hill  Grammar  School,  and  at  sixteen  (December  6, 
1840)  he  was  appointed  assistant  teacher  in  that  school.  Out 
of  school  he  studied  with  the  ministry  in  view.  At  seventeen 
he  read  Kant's  "  Critique  of  Pure  Reason,"  and  enjoyed  it. 
This  he  read  in  translation  from  the  German,  as  also  Cousin's 
"  Psycholog}'^,"  from  the  French. 

iSeep.  10. 


228  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

In  1842,  thanks  to  Hosea  Ballon,  2d,  who  had  been  a  very- 
dear  friend  of  Starr  King's  father,^  and  was  now  a  member  of 
the  school  committee  of  Medford,  he  was  elected,  young  as  he 
was,  to  be  principal  of  the  West  Grammar  School  in  that  town. 
This  event  was  a  turning  point  in  his  life.  Frothingham  well 
says,  it  looks  like  "  Providence  shaping  his  ends."  ^  He  wrote, 
"  I  am  very  much  pleased  with  the  change,  and  delighted  with 
the  Medford  people."  Dr.  Ballou  said  to  Mr.  Frothingham, 
"  that  while  Medford  had  gained  a  faithful  and  competent 
teacher,  he  had  found  a  rare  and  precious  friend."  "  He  had 
the  advantage,"  says  E.  P.  Whipple,  "of  being  the  personal 
friend  of  one  of  the  most  accomplished  scholars  that  the  Univer- 
salist  denomination  has  produced,  —  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hosea  Ballou 
(2d),  —  a  friendship  which  years  only  deepened  and  made  more 
intimate."^  Soon  after  he  began  teaching  in  Medford,  Starr 
King  began  a  systematic  preparation  for  the  ministry,  under 
the  counsel  of  Dr.  Ballou.  At  a  festival  in  Boston  some  fif- 
teen years  afterward.  Rev.  A.  D.  Mayo  said  "that  all  the 
theological  education  he  enjoyed  was  three  months'  study  in 
the  library  of  Dr.  Ballou,  and  that  such  an  association  with 
him  was  enough  ;  "  to  which  Starr  King,  who  followed  him, 
responded:  "I  have  been  more  fortunate.  More  than  three 
months,  more  than  three  years,  more  than  three  times  three 
years,  I  have  been  receiving  influence  from  that  noble 
man ;  for  I  can  hardly  remember  when  in  childhood  I  did 
not  look  up  to  that  forehead  and  those  blue  eyes  as  the 
expression  of  a  noble  Christian  integrity,  wisdom,  and  purity."  4 
"  What  love  and  confidence  grew  up  between  those  gifted  and 
kindred  souls  !  "  exclaims  Frothingham  ;  ^  "  and  how  interesting 

1  The  elder  King,  as  well  as  his  son,  used  to  pi-eserve  witty  notes  he  had  received  from 
Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  and  read  them  to  his  friends.  The  author  regrets  that  painstaking  search 
has  failed  to  discover  them. 

2  "Tribute  to  Thomas  Starr  King,"  p.  42.  ^  Whipple's  "  Memoir,"  pp.  xiv,  xv  . 
*"  Tribute  to  Thomas  Starr  King,"  pp.  44, 45.  ^Ihid.,  pp.  42,  43. 


THOMAS   STARE  KINO.  229 

it  was  to  see  them  together !  One  of  silver  locks,  rich  in 
ancient  and  modern  lore  ;  the  other  of  boyish  face,  athirst  for 
knowledge  and  scaling  the  heights  with  the  scholar's  enthu- 
siasm ;  and  both  of  wit  that  was  quick,  of  easy  flow,  elicited  by 
the  commonest  things,  and,  diamond-like,  sharp  and  sparkling. 
Intimate  and  sweet  was  their  lifelong  communion  ;  much  in 
the  quiet  seclusion  of  the  study,  occupied  with  great  themes, 
and  much  among  the  sublimity  of  the  mountains,  feeling  the 
grand  inspiration  of  Nature,  for  both  were  loving  worshipers 
at  her  shrine.  Then  their  views  of  Christ  and  Christianity 
were  similar.  Both  accepted  in  like  form  the  centralisms  of 
the  paternity  of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of  man ;  both 
thought  alike  of  the  dignity  of  human  nature  ;  both  reached 
like  conclusions  as  to  discipline  and  the  great  restoration  ;  both 
had  a  faith  in  immortality  that  rose  to  the  sublime  ;  and  both, 
too,  were  the  subjects  of  dogmatic  criticism  from  good  and 
true  men  of  their  own  denomination,  whose  minds  were  not 
given  to  philosophy,  who  measured  fidelity  to  principle  by 
devotion  to  sect,  and  stood  like  Cerberus  at  its  gates  to  warn 
off  intrusion  or  to  keep  up  interior  discipline.  The  sympathy 
between  the  two  friends  was  noble.  Nothing  could  exceed  the 
admiration  which  Dr.  Ballon  habitually  expressed  for  the 
intellectual  gifts  of  his  young  friend,  and  no  one  ever  heard 
from  the  lips  of  Thomas  Starr  King  aught  but  love  and 
gratitude  for  his  theological  father." 

On  August  1,  1843,  Starr  King  resigned  his  position  in 
Medford  to  accept  a  more  lucrative  clerical  position  in  the 
Navy  Yard  at  Charlestown,  but  he  continued  his  studies  of 
philosophy  and  religion,  and  in  1845  Dr.  Ballou  considered  that 
he  was  well  prepared  for  the  Christian  ministry.  His  first 
public  address  was  in  the  r61e  of  a  Fourth  of  July  orator  at 
Medford  in  that  year,  before  he  was  twenty-one,  and  Starr 
King  himself  said,  "  When  the  doctor's  face  was  all  aglow  with 


230  HOSEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

satisfaction,  I  knew  it  was  all  right."  At  the  same  time,  in 
July,  1845,  he  appeared  as  an  essayist  in  the  Universalist 
Quarterly,  in  an  article  on  "  Philosophy  and  Theology."  i  In 
the  autumn  he  began  preaching  in  Woburu,  Medford,  and 
Maiden,  and  in  the  winter  to  a  new  Universalist  society  lately- 
gathered  on  Chardon  Street,  Boston  ;  and  July  16, 1846,  he  was 
called  to  his  first  pastoral  settlement  as  the  successor  of  Rev. 
E.  H.  Chapin  in  Charlestown.  The  delivery  of  the  Scriptures 
and  the  charge  by  Dr.  Ballon  was  peculiarly  impressive  ;  the 
sermon  by  the  eloquent  Chapin  was  from  the  text,  "  Whosoever 
will  be  the  greatest  among  you,  let  him  be  your  minister ;  " 
and  the  graceful  pen  of  Sarah  C.  Edgarton  wrote  for  the 
ordination  service  one  of  her  mellifluous  hymns.^ 

Boy  that  he  was  to  the  Charlestown  people,  Starr  King 
"still  satisfied  the  raised  expectations  of  bis  hearers."^  His 
training  in  Dr.  Ballou's  study,  and  in  the  writings  of  Plato, 
Descartes,  Locke,  Berkeley,  Hume,  Kant,  Hamilton,  Cousin, 
Shakespeare,  and  Goethe,  equipped  him  well  for  the  work. 
His  earnest  delivery,  his  deep,  rich  voice,  his  expressive  eyes 
gave  peculiar  impressiveness  to  the  spiritual  truths  he  uttered. 
The  fame  he  acquired  in  his  vocation  of  preacher  was  percep- 
tibly increased  in  his  avocation  of  lecturer. 

When  Starr  King  first  received  a  call  to  the  HoUis  Street 
(^  Unitarian)  Church  in  Boston,  he  declined  it.  When  the  call 
was  more  urgently  repeated,  he  sought  the  advice  of  Dr. 
Ballou.  I  would  go,  said  Dr.  Ballon,  but  let  it  be  distinctly 
understood  that  you  go  as  a  Universalist.  Dr.  Ballou  and  Dr. 
Chapin  took  part  in  the  installation  service,  and  Mrs.  T.  J. 
Sawyer  contributed  an  original  hymn.  As  a  Universalist,  Starr 
King  never  lowered  his  flag.     His  new  Unitarian  friends  some- 

1  See  Article  No.  XX,  pp.  221-249. 

2  See  this  hymn  in  Frothingham's  "  Tribute  to  Thomas  Starr  King,"  p.  85. 

3  Whipple's  "  Memoir,"  p.  xvi. 


THOMAS  STARE  KING.  231 

times  asked  him  the  difference  between  the  two  denominations, 
and  this  was  his  characteristic  reply  in  a  public  address :  "The 
Universalist  believes  that  God  is  too  good  to  damn  us  forever," 
said  he,  "  and  you  Unitarians  believe  that  you  are  too  good  to 
be  damned." 

He  frequently  sought  Dr.  Ballou's  advice,  as  in  the  following 
humorous  letter :  — 

Boston,  May  11,  1858. 
Mr  DEAR  Dr.  B. 

The  Great  Hosee,  —  I  have  been  re-reading  lately  a  celebrated 
work  by  some  learned  and  perverse  heretic  of  the  last  century  —  to 
whom  the  gods  had  not  denied  the  gift  of  a  most  excellent  English 
style  —  to  wit:  "The  Ancient  History  of  Universalism."  I  find 
that  my  principles  have  become  somewhat  corrupted  by  the  show  of 
fairness  and  erudition  and  the  insidious  style  of  the  awful  volume. 
After  perusing  it  I  am  in  doubt  touching  the  doctrine  and  topic  of 
Rev.  Dr.  Nehemiah,  South  Side,  Calvin  Adams. 

Yet  I  fear  to  trust  myself  unreservedly  to  the  statements  and 
implications  of  a  book  evidently  written  by  an  oily  and  plausible, 
but  reckless  and  godless  man.  How  much  better  to  be  under  the 
guidance  of  a  sleek  and  serious  Christian  who  does  not  tamper  with 
the  Holy  AVord,  and  who  admires  the  arrangements  of  this  world  as 
the  neat  and  symmetrical  portico  of  hell ! 

Yet  three  points  in  this  wily  volume  above  mentioned  disturb  me 
and  forbid  that  serene  yielding  of  my  intellect  to  the  influence  of 
the  saintly  and  cheei-ing  Nehemiah,  which  seems  so  advisable.  The 
treacherous  writer  asserts  (page  45)  that  the  Sybilline  Oracles  use 
the  word  "  everlasting  "  concerning  the  punishment  of  the  wicked  — 
still  teaching  Universal  Restoration. 

Also  (page  88)  that  an  old  scamp  —  a  spurious,  Capon-Christian, 
an  Egyptian-gelding,  the  father  (so  far  as  a  wretch  in  his  situation 
can  be  called  father,  in  a  correct  use  of  language),  at  any  rate,  the 
Origen  of  Universalism,  used  the  same  word  touching  the  overhaul- 
ing which  scoundrels    will   experience   in   the   life   to   come.     Still 


232  HOSE  A  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

further,  the  pestilent  book  affirms  (pages  179  and  180)  that  Gregory 
of  Nyssa  knew  so  little  of  Greek  as  to  use  "  everlasting"  again  of 
temporal  discipline,  and  also  that  the  wicked  are  to  be  saved  by 
means  of  everlasting  purgation. 

Now  I  cannot  think  that  the  writer  of  the  volume  or  even  these 
old  numskulls  are  to  be  trusted  against  Dr.  Adams.  But  I  do  want 
to  know,  before  I  settle  finally  into  a  poor  opinion  of  their  scholar- 
ship, whether  it  is  the  word  aionios  which,  in  these  instances,  they 
so  ignorautly  apply  to  that  punishment  which,  for  Dr.  Adams'  sake, 
and  the  justice  due  to  the  other  pro-slavery  clergy,  we  devoutly  trust 
is  to  be  literally  unending.  Can  you  inform  me  touching  this 
matter?  If  you  have  any  knowledge  of  the  puerile  but  pernicious 
publication  referred  to,  will  you  drop  me  a  line  as  soon  as  possible  ? 
and  believe  me,  Yours  in  suspense, 

T.  S.  KING. 

I  am  to  preach  a  sermon  next  Sunday  evening  in  which  I  wish  to 
use  the  fact. 

Dr.  Ballou's  enthusiasm  for  mountain  scenery,  particularly 
his  thirty-page  article  on  "  The  White  Mountains,"  printed  in 
the  Quarterly,  in  1846,^  turned  Starr  King's  attention  to  the 
"  White  Hills  "  which  he  first  visited,  he  tells  us,  in  1849,^  and, 
making  his  summer  home  at  Gorham,  he  never  tired  of  revisit- 
ing them.  His  volume  "  The  White  Hills  "  was  published  in. 
October,  1859,  on  the  eve  of  his  final  departure  for  California. 
When  he  decided  to  accept  the  call  to  San  Francisco,  he 
replied :  "  I  shall  go  to  you  in  the  hope  of  using  all  the  powers 
that  may  be  continued  to  me  for  your  permanent  strength  as 
a  Liberal-Christian  parish."  His  affectionate  letters  to  Dr. 
Ballou  from  the  Yosemite  and  the  Golden  Gate,  with  gifts  for 
Tufts  College  Library,  —  what  cheer  they  brought  to  Dr. 
Ballou !     On  April  29,  1860,  he  preached  his  first  sermon  in 

iVol.  Ill,  pp.  n3-143. 

=  See  "The  White  Hills,"  p.  222;  Frothingham's  statement  (p.  137)  that  he  visited  the 
White  Hills  at  thirteen  appears  to  be  an  error. 


EDWIX  HUBBELL    CHAPIX.  233 

California  as  the  first  threats  of  rebellion  were  distinctly 
heard.  In  the  fonr  years  he  was  spared  to  the  world  in  Cal- 
ifornia, he  built  a  magnificent  church  as  an  enduring  monu- 
ment; but  the  great  monument  of  those  four  years  of  severest, 
most  anxious  toil  is  the  fact  that  Starr  King  more  than  any 
other  one  man  contributed  to  inspire  loyalty  and  patriotism, 
and  to  save  the  Pacific  Coast  to  the  Union,  —  a  monument 
that  will  not  be  forgotten  when  the  pile  of  brick  and  mortar 
shall  have  crumbled  to  dust. 

On  Friday,  March  4,  1864,  Thomas  Starr  King  passed  away, 
in  the  prime  of  life,  leaving  a  widow  (now  Mrs.  Norris)  and 
two  little  children,  a  daughter,  now  the  wife  of  Horace  Davis, 
and  a  son,  Frederick  R.  King,  now  a  lawyer,  —  all  still  resident 
in  San  Francisco.  His  contributions  to  the  Universalist 
Quarterly,  "  Patriotism  and  other  Papers  "  (1864)  and  "  Sub- 
stance and  Show  "  (1877),  comprise  his  principal  literary  work. 

Edwin  Hubbell  Chapin. 

On  the  very  day  that  Hosea  Ballon,  2d,  bid  farewell  to  all 
that  was  mortal  of  his  dear  friend.  Rev.  Thomas  F.  King,  in 
September,  1839,  it  happened  that  a  young  man,  less  than 
twenty-five  years  old,  preached  his  first  sermon  in  the  draped 
Charlestown  pulpit,  —  a  young  man  who  was  to  become  the  most 
intimate  of  his  friends  at  Cornhill,  excepting  only  the  elder 
King's  son. 

Edwin  Hubbell  Chapin  was  born  in  Union  Village,  Wash- 
ington County,  N.  Y.,  December  29,  1814,  in  a  humble  home, 
the  son  of  Alpheus  and  Beulah  (Hubbell)  Chapin.  His  father 
was  a  pronounced  wit  and  a  portrait  painter ;  his  paternal 
grandfather,  an  educated  physician  in  Vermont.  The  pulpit 
orator  himself  whs  disposed  to  give  credit  for  his  intellectual 
traits  to  his  ancestry  :  he  was  of  the  eighth  generation  from 
Deacon  Samuel  Chapin,  English  emigrant,  who,  in   1642,  left 


234  HO  SEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

Dorchester  to  found  a  home  with  Pynchon  and  Holyoke  in  the 
Connecticut  Valley  at  Springfield ;  and  on  his  mother's  side, 
Richard  Hubbell,  in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
was  the  first  American  ancestor. 

His  father  a  wandering  artist,  from  the  earliest  years  of  his 
recollection,  his  parents  had  no  fixed  abode  to  call  home,  and 
the  child  had  no  systematic  training  in  school.  A  dozen  sum- 
mers had  scarcely  passed  over  his  head  when  the  family  at 
length  made  a  protracted  halt  in  Sudbury  Street,  near  Court 
Street,  Boston,  and  the  lad  began  service  as  an  office  boy  in  a 
broker's  office  on  State  Street.  In  his  leisure  hours  he  amused 
his  comrades  as  a  member  of  an  amateur  theatrical  company, 
the  late  tragedian  E,  L.  Davenport  being  of  the  number.  At 
this  critical  moment,  when  at  fifteen  the  drama  was  his  ambition, 
his  parents  sent  him  to  the  Pioneer  Academy  at  historic  Ben- 
nington, Vt.,  to  keep  him  off  the  stage.  Here  for  four  years  he 
was  fortunate  in  having  one  James  Ballard  as  his  teacher,  to 
guide  and  not  restrain  his  bursts  of  enthusiasm,  to  cultivate 
devotion  in  his  exuberant  nature,  and  to  give  aim  and  method 
to  his  studies,  and  in  having  home  influences  in  the  family  of 
Deacon  Aaron  Hubbell.  His  muse,  too,  now  voiced  poetic 
sentiment  in  creditable  verse.  Among  his  schoolmates  he  was 
immensely  popular.  "  He  was  facetious  and  funny,  but  large- 
hearted,  manly,  and  noble."  The  two  years  following  he  was 
postmaster's  clerk  at  Bennington,  and  lived  in  the  home  of 
Henry  Kellogg,  a  prosperous  lawyer,  whose  wife  was  a  Hub- 
bell. Gradually  the  law  supplanted  the  drama  as  his  ideal,  and 
four  months  after  he  had  passed  his  twenty-first  birthday,  in 
May,  1836,  he  bade  a  fond  good-b}^  to  Bennington  and  "  with  a 
new  suit  of  clothes  and  forty  dollars  in  his  pocket,"  ^  went  to 
Troy,  N.  Y.,  and  entered  a  law  office ;  shortly  he  entered  the 
political  arena  as  a  stump  orator  for  the  Van  Buren  party.     It 

1  Sumner  Ellis'  "  Life  of  Edvnn  H.  Chapin,"  p.  38. 


EDWIX  HUBBELL    CHAPIN.  235 

was  at  this  time  that  he  became  the  subject  of  a  religious 
revival  of  the  Calvinistic  type,  and  was  for  a  time  mentally 
unbalanced  by  it.  In  less  than  a  year  from  his  arrival  in  Tro^^ 
he  abandoned  the  study  of  law.  "  In  great  distress  of  mind," 
he  went  to  his  father's  home  at  Bridgewater.  Then  going  with 
him  to  Utica,  N.  Y.,  in  his  search  for  light,  happily  he  became  a 
frequent  visitor  to  the  office  of  the  Evangelical  Magazine  and 
Gospel  Advocate,  a  Universalist  paper  then  published  in  Utica 
by  Rev.  A.  B,  Grosh  and  O.  Hutchinson.  There  he  found  and 
read  Hosea  Ballou's  "  Treatise  on  Atonement,"  I.  D.  William- 
son's "  Argument  for  Christianity,"  Smith  on  "  Divine  Govern- 
ment," etc.  Shortly  he  was  received  into  Mr.  Grosh's  home  as 
a  boarder  and  became  an  employee  in  the  office;  and  in  two 
months,  on  September  22,  1837,  he  was  announced  as  the 
assistant  editor  of  the  paper.  Now  he  donned  the  editorial 
spectacles,  the  need  of  which,  to  remedy  nearsightedness,  he 
had  not  before  discovered,  and  ever  after  used  them.  New 
convert  that  he  was,  oddly  enough,  he  rarely  referred  to  his 
new  faith  in  his  editorials,  as  indeed  is  true  of  his  pulpit 
utterances  later  in  life.  On  March  16,  1838,  the  Utica  paper 
announced  :  "  Last  Sunday  Brother  E.  H.  Chapin,  our  worthy 
associate,  delivered  his  first  sermon  in  Spencer's  schoolhouse, 
Litchfield.  .  .  .  Those  who  heard  it  speak  of  it  as  very  credit- 
able to  him,  both  in  manner  and  matter."  In  two  months 
(May,  1838)  he  was  invited  to  the  pastoral  charge  of  the 
Independent  Christian  Church  in  Richmond,  Va.,  and  for  four 
months  performed  the  duties  of  the  office  without  ordination. 
He  was  ordained  at  Knoxville,  Madison  County,  N.  Y.,  Sep- 
tember 27,  1838,  and  on  the  fifteenth  of  the  following  month 
was  married  by  Rev.  A.  B.  Grosh  to  Miss  Hannah  Newland, 
of  Utica,  his  lifelong  companion. 

A  year   and   a    half  after   he   first  went   to    Richmond,  on 
November  4, 1839,  he  was  invited  to  occupy  the  vacant  Charles- 


236  HO  SEA   BALLOU  2d,   D.D. 

town  pulpit  several  Sundays.  In  February,  1840,  he  came  and 
delivered  three  sermons  and  several  "  Lectures  to  Young 
Men,"  which  resulted,  the  twenty-third  of  that  month,  in  "a 
frank,  cordial,  and  unanimous  invitation  to  assume  the  pas- 
toral charge  of  this  society."  In  ten  months  to  a  day  he  was 
installed  as  pastor  of  the  Universalist  Church  in  Charlestown, 
the  two  Hosea  Ballous,  the  two  Whittemores,  Sebastian 
Streeter,  Otis  A.  Skinner,  Henry  Bacon,  and  E.  G.  Brooks 
joining  in  the  service.  It  was  the  happy  duty  of  Hosea  Ballou, 
2d,  to  give  the  charge  and  put  a  copy  of  the  Bible  in  the  hands 
of  the  elder  King's  successor,  "  as  the  true  light  of  his  life  and 
the  guide  of  his  preaching."  ^  From  that  time  dates  the  close 
intimacy  between  the  two  men.  The  fourth  Sunday  in  April^ 
1841,  they  first  exchanged  pulpits.  Dr.  Chapin  never  had  a 
systematic  theological  training,  but  the  writer  has  heard  the 
opinion  expressed  that  so  far  as  his  theology  was  systematic 
it  was  due  to  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  more  than  to  any  other  one 
man.  "  Of  all  the  years  of  his  life,"  says  Rev.  Sumner  Ellis, 
referring  to  Chapin's  five  years  in  Charlestown,  "they  were, 
perhaps,  the  most  plastic  and  formative  ;  and,  while  the  ore  of 
his  being  was  thus  at  its  whitest  heat,  it  was  brought  under  the 
most  favorable  pressures.  He  had  come  to  the  best  school  the 
country  could  offer  him,  a  school  truly  polytechnic  and  with 
competent  teachers ;  and  he  came  in  the  true  humility  and 
ambition  of  a  pupil."  ^  It  was  often  Dr.  Ballou's  highest 
mission  not  so  much  to  instruct  as  to  suggest  and  direct.  And 
it  was  at  Dr.  Ballou's  suggestion  —  he  then  being  an  Overseer 
of  Harvard  University  —  that  in  1845  the  degree  of  A.M.  was 
conferred  upon  him,  and  in  1856  the  degree  of  D.D.  Later 
Tufts  College  gave  him  the  degree  of  LL.D.  "  We  have  been 
not  a  little  amused  with  public  notices  of  Mr.  Chapin,  wherein 
his  vast   range    of  deep  and   intense    study  was   announced," 

1  Sumner  Ellis'  "  Life  of  Edwin  H.  Chapin,"  p.  91.  2  md.,  p.  92. 


EDWIX  HUBBELL    CHAPIN.  237 

wrote  Rev.  John  G.  Adams  in  August,  1847.^  "  This  is  a 
pretension  which  need  not  be  made  for  Mr,  Chapin.  Though 
a  passionate  lover  of  reading,  he  is  no  bookworm."  And 
again  the  same  writer  said  of  his  pulpit  eloquence  :  "  He  is  all 
alive,  and  keeps  his  hearers  so.  Often,  when  filled  with  his 
theme  and  roused  to  strong  inspiration  therewith,  will  he  hold 
an  audience  spellbound,  swaying  them  as  the  swift  wind  the 
forest  or  grain  field."  ^  When  in  a  social  mood,  a  wit  among 
wits  at  Cornhill,  and  the  prince  of  story-tellers,  he  often  ap- 
peared lost  in  abstraction.  In  Chaiiestown  and  later  for  two 
years  as  Father  Ballou's  colleague  at  School  Street,  Boston, 
—  where  again  Dr.  Ballou  delivered  the  charge,  January  26, 
1846,  —  Chapin's  face  was  smooth  shaven,  and  but  for  his  grow- 
ing corpulence  he  would  have  appeared  youthful.  Says  one^ 
who  knew  him  at  Charlestown,  and  sat  under  his  preaching  at 
School  Street,  Boston,  and  for  twenty-five  years  was  a  pillar  in 
Dr.  Chapin's  society  in  New  York :  "  A  marked  change  was 
•noticeable  in  Chapin's  appearance  three  or  four  years  after  he 
went  to  New  York,"  —  physically  larger,  his  features  became 
heavier,  which  were  further  changed  by  the  growth  of  a  beard. 
It  was  on  the  seventh  of  May,  1848,  that  Rev.  Edwin  H. 
Chapin  became  pastor  of  the  Fourth  Universalist  Society  in 
New  York,  then  occupying  the  church  on  Murray  Street, 
Their  offer  to  assume  certain  debts  which  he  had  incurred  with 
characteristic  prodigal  generosity  and  open-handedness,  and  an 
increase  of  a  thousand  dollars  a  year  in  his  salary,  determined 
his  removal  from  Boston.  In  four  years  and  a  half  a  larger 
auditorium  was  required  to  accommodate  the  people  who 
thronged  to  hear  him,  and  a  new  church  on  Broadway,  near 
Spring  Street,  was   purchased,  and   there    the  society's  home 

1  See  The  Universalist  Miscellany,  vol.  V,  p.  59. 

=  I'he  Universalist  Miscellany,  vol.  V,  p.  56,  —  of  which  Mr.  Chapin  had  lately  ceased  to 
be  eilitor. 

■*  Mr.  Nathaniel  Cheney,  of  North  Orange,  Mass. 


238  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

remained  for  fourteen  years,  prospering  marvelously.  Mean- 
while his  reputation  as  an  author  and  a  poet  continued  to 
grow.  With  all  his  pastoral  duties  and  engagements  as  a 
lecturer  he  was  a  prolific  writer ;  and  for  literary  merit  and 
helpfulness  two  dainty  gift  books,  "Crown  of  Thorns"  (1848) 
and  "  Hours  of  Communion  "  (1851),  are  not  the  least  notable 
of  his  writings,  and  are  worthy  of  being  read  and  re-read 
to-day,  as  well  as  "  Moral  Aspects  of  City  Life "  (1853), 
and  "True  Manliness"  (1854).  In  December,  1866,  Dr. 
Chapin  began  in  the  new  Church  of  the  Divine  Paternity, 
on  Fifth  Avenue  and  Forty-fifth  Street,  the  last  period  of  four- 
teen years'  service  to  his  New  York  society.  In  his  last 
message  to  his  congregation,  a  few  months  before  his  death, 
December  26,  1880,  when  neither  his  beautiful  city  home  nor 
the  delightful  quiet  of  Pigeon  Cove  could  help  him  in  his  wast- 
ing strength,  he  wrote  :  "  I  exhort  you  to  be  firm  in  your  faith 
and  your  loyalty  to  the  Church  and  the  great  truths  and  in- 
terests associated  with  it.  Do  not  forsake  these  or  become 
indifferent  or  discouraged." 

Amory  Dwight  Mayo. 

Amory  Dwight  Mayo  was  born  in  Warwick,  Mass.,  January 
31,  1823,  and  he  acquired  the  rudiments  of  education  in  his 
native  town  and  at  Deerfield  Academy.     He  writes:  —  ^ 

"  My  intimate  relations  with  Rev.  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  .  .  .  were 
confined  to  a  few  months'  residence  in  his  home  in  the  autumn  of 
1845,  and  an  occasional  interview  in  the  following  nine  years,  during 
eio-ht  of  which  I  was  the  minister  of  the  Independent  Christian  Society 
(Universalist)  at  Gloucester,  Mass.  I  had  been  compelled  by  ill 
health  to  leave  Amherst  College  in  the  second  term  of  Freshman 
year  and,  on  my  partial  recovery,  had  decided  to  enter  the  Christian 
ministry.     Through   the  introduction  of  Miss  Sarah  C.  Edgartou  I 

1  Letter  to  Hosea  Starr  Ballou,  July  27, 1896. 


x^     f^- 


AMORY    DWIGHT    MAYO. 


AMOBY  DWIGHT  MAYO.  239 

became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Ballon,  and  spent  several  months  in  Med- 
ford  in  daily  intimate  consnltatiou  on  the  preparation  for  the  ministry. 

'•  It  was  soon  apparent  that  I  was  in  no  physical  condition  to  under- 
take a  course  of  severe  study  in  anything.  The  two  years  between 
my  retirement  from  college  and  my  settlement  at  Gloucester  were 
given  to  a  course  of  preliminary  reading  on  matters  pertaining  to 
philosophy,  ecclesiastical  history,  and  the  careful  reading  of  the  New 
Testament.  .  .  .  The  more  severe  professional  studies,  like  those  of 
Dr.  Ballou,  Chapin,  and  King,  came  in  the  years  of  my  parish  minis- 
try in  Massachusetts,  at  Gloucester  and  Springfield,  Albany,  N.  Y., 
and  Cleveland  and  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

"  In  1880  I  entered  my  present  work  —  a  Ministry  of  Education  in 
the  Southern  States.  .  .  .  Dr.  Ballou  gave  me  the  Charge  at  my 
ordination  and  officiated  at  my  marriage  to  Miss  Edgarton.  My 
first  essays  were  religious  talks  at  his  prayer-meeting  in  Medford, 
and  my  first  sermons  were  preached  at  Woburn,  Mass.,  October  12, 
1845,  Starr  King  assisting,  as  I  had  at  his  first  preaching  in  the 
same  church,  on  a  previous  Sunday. 

"  As  a  theological  teacher  I  always  regarded  Dr.  Ballou  with  great 
respect  and  reverence,  and  still  believe  his  method  of  preparation 
for  the  ministry  the  best.  It  was  largely,  at  first,  a  thorough 
acquaintance  with  the  geography  and  history  of  the  world  in  the 
time  of  the  appearance  of  Jesus  in  Palestine.  With  this  environ- 
ment, he  counseled  the  reading  of  the  New  Testament  in  the  original 
with  sparing  use  of  commentaries,  but  rather  by  the  light  thrown 
on  the  life  and  words  of  the  Master  by  all  the  culture  and  experi- 
ence the  student  could  bring  to  that  supreme  study. 

"Whatever  might  be  the  accumulation  of  knowledge  in  the  usual 
departments  of  professional'  study,  he  believed  that  all  this  was  dead 
rubbish  until  illuminated,  locked  into  shape,  and  vitalized  all  through 
by  a  personal  experience,  and  that  knowledge  of  life  which  often 
comes  at  the  beginning  rather  than  the  end  of  a  genuine  career.  It 
was  by  this  method  that  he  and  a  score  of  the  ablest  and  most 
influential  preachers  of  the  last  half  century  have  been  trained  for 
leadership  in  that  great  reformation  known  as  Liberal  Christianity." 


240  HOSEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

In  1873  Amherst  College  conferred  the  honorary  degree  of 
A.M.  on  Mr.  Mayo,  and  in  1896  Berea  College  that  of  LL.D. 
As  a  religious  teacher  he  is  still  active,  having  delivered  at  the 
Boston  Young  Men's  Christian  Union,  in  the  summer  of  1896, 
a  course  of  nine  addresses  on  "  Privilege  and  Peril  in  American. 
City  Life  " ;  but  for  sixteen  years  his  has  been  a  Ministry  of 
Education  in  the  Southern  States ;  he  is  also  writing  a  work  on 
our  common  schools  from  the  colonial  to  our  own  time. 

John  Stebbins  Lee. 

For  seventy  years  Captain  Eli  Lee  was  a  leading  Univer- 
salist  of  Vernon,  Vt.,  the  town  adjoining  Dr.  Ballou's  native 
Guilford.  There  Captain  Lee's  son,  John  Stebbins  Lee,  was 
born,  September  23,  1820.     He  writes :  —  ^ 

"  In  the  winter  of  1845,  while  I  was  a  student  in  Amherst  College, 
I  wrote  to  Rev.  Hosea  Ballon,  2d,  asking  hhn  if  I  might  study  theol- 
ogy with  him.  ...  I  was  about  to  graduate  from  the  college,  I  was 
the  only  Universalist  in  my  class,  and  I  had  been  treated  so  unchari- 
tably, and  my  sentiments  had  been  so  persistently  misrepresented, 
that  I  was  determined  to  avail  myself  of  all  the  advantages  possible 
to  acquaint  myself  with  Universalist  theology.  I  had  decided  to 
enter  the  ministry,  but  1  had  accepted  an  invitation  to  take  charge 
of  Mount  Ca?sar  Seminary,  in  Swansey,  N.  H.,  and  it  was  not  until 
June,  1846,  that  I  was  free  to  go  on  with  my  studies  under  him.  I 
became  a  boarder  in  his  family  and  studied  under  his  direction  for 
several  months.  It  was  a  great  privilege  and  I  appreciated  it 
highly.  Indeed  it  was  the  turning  point  in  my  life.  There  were 
then  no  theological  schools  in  our  denomination,  and  it  was  neces- 
sary to  seek  out  some  good  scholar  as  a  teacher  or  to  plod  on  alone. 
Dr.  Ballon  stood  at  the  head  of  our  theologians,  and  many  young 
men  sought  his  services.  So  I  eagerly  availed  myself  of  his  consent 
to  receive  me  as  a  pupil.  The  few  months  I  spent  with  him  afforded 
me  a  glorious  opportunity.     He  opened  before  my  receptive  mind 

1  Letter  to  Hosea  Starr  Ballon,  July  8, 1896. 


JOHN  STEBBIXS  LEE.  241 

the  treasures  of  his  vast  knowledge  ami  wide  experience,  and  I 
reveled  in  them.  I  studied  Hebrew  and  read  the  Greek  Testament 
and  works  on  the  different  departments  of  theology.  I  composed 
sermons  for  his  inspection  and  received  the  benefits  of  his  friendly 
criticism.  I  received  cautions  and  dire(;tions  in  the  management  of 
parishes.  He  was  one  of  the  most  patient  and  skilful  of  teachers. 
Everything  which  he  treated  he  made  plain.  As  a  wise  exegete  he 
threw  light  on  difficult  passages  of  Scripture. 

"  He  infused  his  personality  into  the  mind  of  every  one  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact,  and  thus  gradually  moulded  their  char- 
acter. He  was  simple  in  his  tastes  and  deportment,  but  he  exhibited 
a  depth  and  originality  of  thought  that  were  truly  wonderful,  yet  he 
made  no  pretensions.  He  put  on  no  affectation.  He  was  deferent 
to  all.  He  would  often  ask  questions  of  his  pnpils,  seemingly  to 
get  information,  but  really  in  tbis  manner  communicated  it  to  them. 
The  idea  would  flash  upon  their  minds  before  tliey  were  aware  of  it. 
He  was  one  of  the  most  candid  and  conscientious  of  men,  and  this 
feature  marked  all  his  utterances.  He  was  not  an  unscrupulous 
opponent.  He  stated  fairly  his  positions  before  proceeding  to  over- 
throw them.  If  he  erred  at  all,  it  was  on  the  side  of  leniency.  P^'or 
instance,  in  his  '  Ancient  History  of  Universalism  '  he  hesitated  to 
claim  certain  theologians,  as  Theodoret  and  Gregory  Nazianzen,  as 
Universalists,  because  the  evidence  was  not  deemed  quite  conclusive, 
whom  Farrar,  Beecher,  and  AUin  pronounced  decided  Universalists. 

"  He  was  courteous  in  his  dealings  with  all  who  came  into  collision 
with  his  opinions.  He  did  not  cease  to  respect  those  who  differed 
from  him  if  he  thought  them  sincere.  For  instance,  he  did  not 
accept  the  views  of  his  uncle  concerning  the  relations  of  man  to  the 
future  world.  He  held  opinions  more  in  consistency  with  the  nature 
of  man  and  the  philosophy  of  the  human  mind,  yet  he  did  not  vio- 
lenth'  assail  those  of  his  uncle.  He  gently  touched  upon  them,  and 
in  the  expression  of  his  dissent  exhibited  in  the  highest  degree  the 
esteem  which  he  felt  towards  the  recognized  leader  of  the  Univer- 
salist  denomination. 

"In   his    family   he    was   mild    and    unobtrusive.     His   views   of 


242  HO  SEA   BALLOU,   2d,    D.D. 

domestic  economy  were  marked  by  common  sense.  His  manner 
towards  all  the  members  of  his  family  and  transient  guests  was 
genial  and  kind.  Every  one  who  was  invited  to  his  house  was  made 
to  feel  at  home.  In  a  word  he  was  a  Christian  and  a  gentleman  in 
every  sense  of  these  words. 

"  While  studying  with  him  we  used  to  walk  into  Boston  on  Mon- 
day mornings  from  Medford,  five  miles,  and  ride  back  at  noon. 
Those  walks  gave  me  great  pleasure,  as  they  afforded  the  best  oppor- 
tunity for  conversing  with  him.  The  anecdotes  which  he  related  and 
the  wise  counsels  which  he  uttered  have  been  treasured  up  and  re- 
membered all  my  lifetime,  and  given  me  useful  hints  of  which  I  have 
made  free  use  in  my  studies  and  theological  teachings.  I  recall  one 
instance  which  will  serve  as  a  specimen  of  many  others.  I  was  not 
naturally  fluent.  All  the  fluency  I  possess  was  gained  by  practice. 
To  encourage  me  he  said  that  fluency  was  a  positive  injury  to  the 
public  speaker.  He  is  tempted  to  rely  upon  this  and  to  make  little 
or  no  preparation.  The  consequence  is  he  uses  an  abundance  of 
words  and  rambles  all  over  the  lot  without  system  or  effect.  His 
words  mean  little  or  nothing  to  the  hearer.  But  if  he  is  not  fluent, 
he  will  be  compelled  to  make  thorough  preparation,  arrange  his 
thoughts  systematically,  and  get  a  clear  idea  of  what  he  wants  to 
say.  In  this  way  he  will  make  a  much  better  expression.  And  to 
illustrate,  he  related  an  incident.  When  he  was  called  upon  to  speak 
he  made  thorough  preparation  ;  his  mind  became  filled  with  the  mat- 
ter of  which  he  was  to  treat.  On  one  occasion  he  had  arranged  a 
Christmas  service  and  had  invited  a  neighboring  clergyman  to  preach 
the  sermon.  The  hour  arrived  for  the  service,  but  the  clergyman 
did  not  appear.  He  opened  the  service  and  it  was  not  until  the  choir 
was  singing  the  hymn  preceding  the  sermon  that  the  thought  dawned 
upon  him  that  the  speaker  was  going  to  disappoint  him.  He  im- 
mediately selected  a  text  and  hastily  marked  out  the  train  of  thought 
he  would  pursue.  At  the  close  of  the  singing  he  arose  with  the  line 
of  thought  clear  in  his  mind  and  spoke  with  unusual  power,  as  the 
hearers  afterwards  acknowledged.  So  much  for  having  his  mind 
filled  with  the  subject. 


JOHN  STEBBINS  LEE.  243 

"  On  those  Monday  mornings  the  ministers  of  Boston  and  vicinity 
used  to  gather  at  the  Trumpet  office,  37  Cornhill,  and  talk  over 
incidents  pertaining  to  the  Sunday  service,  arrange  exchanges  for 
the  next  Sunday,  and  offer  suggestions  and  give  advice  as  to  the 
management  of  parishes  and  the  composition  of  sermons. 

"  He  was  a  humorous  man  as  well  as  a  scholar.  He  dealt  not  in 
low  slang  or  stale  wit.  His  humorous  sallies  were  always  full  of 
meaning.  On  these  occasions  he  was  the  centre  of  interest.  Many 
gathered  around  him  to  listen  to  his  wise  remarks  and  sharp  sayings. 
His  fund  of  humor  and  satire  was  inexhaustible.  His  talk  with 
Thomas  Whittemore  attracted  all.  They  were  unlike  in  tempera- 
ment, but  genial  spirits  in  wit  and  sarcasm.  He  was  a  man  of 
great  logical  powers,  but  when  the  subject  would  admit  of  it,  he 
would  settle  the  matter  iu  dispute  by  pouring  a  broadside  of  ridicule 
upon  his  opponent's  head,  from  which  he  would  scarcely  ever  attempt 
to  rally. 

"In  June,  1847,  he  preached  my  ordination  sermon  at  West 
Brattleboro,  Vt.^  In  it  he  had  occasion  to  speak  in  strong,  if  not 
severe  terms  of  parishes  that  were  indifferent  or  negligent  in 
maintaining  the  cause  in  which  they  professed  to  feel  an  interest. 
After  the  service  was  over  some  of  the  friends  ventured  to  question 
the  propriety  of  thus  castigating  those  who  failed  to  do  their  duty. 
He  replied  :  '  There  are  birches  in  the  forests,  and  what  are  birches 
good  for  except  to  lash  the  backs  of  the  criminally  negligent?' 
Severity  is  sometimes  necessary,  and  he  knew  when  to  use  it. 
When  the  subject  demanded  it,  he  would  discuss  it  reverently  and 
with  the  tenderest  regard  for  the  feelings  of  those  who  sincerely 
opposed  him.     We  could  not  wish  for  a  kinder  opponent." 

At  West  Brattleboro  Rev.  J.  S.  Lee,  a.m.,  was  principal  ^  of 
Melrose  Seminary,  which,  in  1848,  had  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  students,  "  average  fifty-six  per  term  "  ;  in  1849  it  had  two 
hundred  and  fourteen  students  enrolled,  one  hundred  and  three 
ladies  and  one  hundred  and  eleven  gentlemen.^    Mrs.  E.  B.  Lee 

1  As  successor  to  Kev.  William  S.  Ballou. 

2  Register,  1849,  p.  42.  =  Ibid.,  1850,  p.  41. 


244  HO  SEA   BALLOU,  2d.  D.D. 

was  the  efficient  preceptress.  In  1855  he  was  principal  of  the 
Green  Mountain  Liberal  Institute  at  South  Woodstock,  Vt.,  and 
with  one  hundred  and  twenty  students/  he  sent  from  his  school 
nine  of  the  nineteen  ^  students  who  entered  Tufts  College  at  the 
opening  in  August,  1855.  Had  financial  conditions  permitted, 
he  would  have  been  a  member  of  the  first  faculty  of  Tufts 
College.  In  April,  1859,  the  Collegiate  and  Preparatory  Depart- 
ment of  the  St.  Lawrence  University  was  opened  at  Canton, 
N.  Y.,  "  for  students  fitting  for  college,  or  pursuing  an  advanced 
collegiate  course,"  with  "  Rev.  J.  S.  Lee,  a.m.,  principal  and 
professor  of  Greek  and  Latin  languages."  ^  From  its  foundation 
Dr.  Lee,  more  than  any  other  man,  has  been  identified  with 
and  contributed  to  the  prosperity  of  St.  Lawrence  University, 
of  which  one  of  his  scholarly  sons,  John  Clarence  Lee,  s.t.d., 
is  now  president.  Two  other  sons,  Leslie  A.  Lee,  PH.D., 
professor  of  biology  in  Bowdoin  College,  and  Frederick  S. 
Lee,  PH.D.,  professor  of  physiology  in  Columbia  College,  have 
also  won  fame  in  the  department  of   higher  education. 

Sumner  Ellis. 
Sumner  Ellis  was  born  of  Universalist  parentage,  the  young- 
est of  ten  children,  at  the  Ellis  farmhouse,  near  the  base  of 
Tully  Mountain,  in  Orange,  Mass.,  May  17, 1828.  He  was  the  son 
of  Sethand  Susanna  (Cheney)  Ellis,  and  grandson  of  Ebenezer 
Cheney,  who,  in  1803,  was  the  lay  delegate  of  the  Universalist 
Society  in  Orange  (now  North  Orange),  at  the  General  Con- 
vention of  Universalists  at  Winchester,  N.  H.,  which  adopted 
the  Winchester  Profession  of  Faith ;  and  a  descendant  in  the 
seventh  generation  from  William  Cheney,  who  came  from 
Derbyshire,  England,  and  settled  in  Roxbury,  where  he  "  died 
June  30,  1667,  aged  sixty-three."     From  his  mother  Sumner 

1  Register,  1856,  p.  36. 

i! There  were  thirty  stuilents  in  the  course  of  the  year. 

3  Register,  1S60,  p.  37. 


SUMNER   ELLIS.  245 

Ellis  derived  that  thirst  for  knowledge  and  alertness  of  mind 
which  so  characterized  the  man. 

Reared  a  farmer's  boy,  fond  of  fishing  and  hunting  and  of 
athletic  sports,  with  school  privileges  limited  to  the  district 
school  three  months  in  the  year,  it  was  his  good  fortune  that 
in  June,  1843,  Rev.  Levi  Ballou  was  settled  as  the  pastor  of 
the  First  Parish  in  Orange  and  came  to  live  in  the  old  Ellis 
house,  where  three  generations  of  Ellises  had  lived,  and  directly 
opposite  the  newer  farmhouse  where  Sumner  was  born.  Fif- 
teen years  of  age,  with  a  natural  thirst  for  knowledge,  his  father, 
who  was  one  of  the  leading  men  in  the  then  populous  parish, 
observed  the  boy's  frequent  visits  to  Mr.  Ballou's  library  and 
ttudy.  If  the  father  did  not  encourage  those  visits,  Mr. 
Ballou  did ;  he  aroused  the  boy's  higher  nature  and  kindled  the 
fires  of  enthusiasm  for  a  professional  career.  He  was  regular 
in  attendance  on  the  church  and  the  Sunday-school  and  Bible 
class  ;  and  the  three  years  that  he  continued  to  work  on  his 
father's  farm,  Robert  Thomas'  Almanac,  which  had  been  the  chief 
literature  in  the  Ellis  household,  was  supplanted  in  the  boy's 
leisure  moments  by  Weems'  "  Life  of  Washington,"  Worces- 
ter's "  Epitome  of  History,"  Milton's  "  Paradise  Lost,"  Moore's 
Poems  (both  pocket  editions),  and  others,  not  to  mention 
Blair's  Sermons  in  two  large  volumes,  and  Hosea  Ballou's 
"  Treatise  on  Atonement."  "  Mr.  Ballou  helped  him  in  many 
ways  about  his  studies,"  says  an  intimate  friend  of  all  his 
maturer  years ;i  such  a  "wise  and  tender  friend."  at  the 
turning  point  of  his  life  proved  invaluable. 

Rev.  Levi  Ballou  was  a  trustee  of  the  Academy  at  New 
Salem,  and  it  was  probably  by  his  advice  that  Seth  Ellis  sent 
his  son  Sumner  there  when  eighteen  years  old  for  a  full  year's 
tuition.  The  following  year,  in  the  autumn  of  1847,  Rev. 
John  S.  Lee,  a  friend  of  the  Ballous,  opened  Melrose  Seminary 

iRev.  C.  R.  Moor's  "  Memorial  of  Sumucr  Ellis,"  p.  12. 


246  HO  SEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

at  West  Brattleboro,  where  Rev.  William  Starr  Ballou  had 
been  preaching,  and  Sumner  Ellis  and  other  young  men  and 
women  from  Orange  were  among  the  first  students.  He  had 
already  fully  determined  upon  the  ministry  as  his  profession. 
Dr.  Lee  says :  "  He  began  the  study  of  Latin  and  afterwards 
took  up  Greek,  at  the  same  time  pursuing  his  studies  in 
English.  His  essays  were  marked  by  simplicity  and  earnest- 
ness, elevated  in  tone  and  thought,  spiritual,  devotional.  He 
was  connected  with  the  seminary  about  three  years,  going  out 
to  teach  winters."  At  West  Brattleboro  he  preached  his  first 
sermon,  and  while  a  student  there  in  1849-50  continued  to 
preach  in  the  adjoining  town  of  Guilford.  "  He  is  going  to 
make  a  fine  speaker,"  wrote  Rev.  W.  S.  Ballou,  November  12, 
1849,  to  his  brother  Levi,  —  "a  very  promising  young  man  for 
our  ministry." 

It  was  in  his  twenty-third  year  that  Sumner  Ellis  formally  be- 
gan preparation  for  the  ministry.  Rev.  Levi  Ballou  introduced 
him  into  the  household  of  his  brother.  Rev.  Hosea  Ballou, 
2d,  D.D.,  at  Medford.  "Nobody  has  ever  yet  written  just  what 
should  be  written  of  his  remarkable  private  life  and  character," 
says  one  of  Sumner  Ellis'  fellow-students  in  Dr.  Ballou's  home. 

After  less  than  two  years  of  preparation  at  Medford,  Sumner 
Ellis  received  a  call  as  colleague  of  the  venerable  Rev.  Sebas- 
tian Streeter,  at  the  First  Universalist  Church,^  on  Hanover 
and  Bennet  Streets,  Boston.  On  October  28,  1851,  Rev.  Levi 
Ballou  joined  him  in  marriage  to  Mary  Jane  Morton,  whom  he 
had  known  and  loved  from  childhood,  and  who  had  also  been 
a  fellow-student  with  him  at  Melrose  Seminary;  and  on 
November  11,  1851,  the  ordination  and  installation  services 
were  solemnized  at  Boston. 

'This  church  was  built  in  1838  to  replace  the  frame  meeting-house  (see  picture  in 
"  Memorial  History  of  Boston,"  vol.  Ill,  p.  489),  purcliased  in  1 785,  where  Murray  preached 
until  a  stroke  of  paralysis,  October  19, 1809,  made  him  "  helpless  as  a  new-born  babe  "  until 
Ms  death,  September  3, 1815. 


SUM.YEB  ELLIS.  247 

When  Rev.  Sumner  Ellis  began  his  work  at  the  Hanover 
Street  Church,  the  foreign  population  had  already  begun  to 
crowd  out  the  native-born  population  from  the  North  End  of 
Boston.  Some  of  the  Protestant  meeting-houses  in  that  quar- 
ter of  the  city  were  already  abandoned.^  As  a  preacher  he 
had  presence,  a  pleasing  manner,  and  "  there  were  but  few  in 
that  large  audience  who  detected  any  failure  to  feed  the  flock 
continuously  with  all  that  the  hungry  and  weary  soul  needs." 

After  two  years'  service  there,  on  the  first  Sunday  in  1854, 
Mr.  Ellis  assumed  the  duties  of  pastor  to  the  First  Universal- 
ist  Society  in  Salem,  as  successor  of  the  Rev.  Ebenezer  Fisher. 
At  Salem  he  ''  worked  easier  and  preached  better,"  and  he 
was  '"  more  widely  felt  among  the  general  public."  Twice 
every  Sunday  he  was  encouraged  and  stimulated  by  large 
audiences,  and  the  Sunday-school  outgrew  the  vestry.  It  was 
preeminently  a  successful  pastorate. 

In  August,  1858,  he  halted  for  a  period  of  rest  and  study. 
After  a  year  and  a  half  he  settled  in  Lynn,  where  he  remained 
two  years  and  a  half.  Then  for  a  few  months  in  the  winter  of 
1862-63,  Mr.  Ellis  assumed  the  duties  of  pastor  of  the  Church 
of  the  Divine  Paternity  in  New  York  during  the  absence  of 
Rev.  E.  H.  Chapin,  d.d.,  abroad.  He  was  associate  pastor  with 
ReVo  T.  B.  Thayer,  d.d.,  of  the  Shawmut  Universalist  Church, 
Boston,  about  two  years  and  a  half,  and  then,  taking  Horace 
Greeley's  advice,  he  departed  for  the  West,  at  first  on  a  busi- 
ness venture ;  but  concluding  very  soon  that  he  "was  not  made 
for  that  sort  of  thing,"  we  next  find  him  doing  faithful  service 
at  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  at  Dubuque,  Iowa,  as  supply  at  St.  Paul's, 
Chicago,  in  the  absence  of  Rev.  W.  H.  Ryder,  d.d.,  and  then 
after  little  more  than  a  year  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  in  pastoral  work, 

^The  property  was  finally  sold,  May  28,  1864,  for  $30,000  above  the  incumbrance  of 
$15,000,  and  the  twenty -four  proprietors  divided  the  proceeds  pro  rata  among  them.  See 
Suffolk  Records,  Lib.  843,  folio  248. 


248  ROSEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

he  returned  to  Boston  in  1872,  and  began  the  preparation  of 
his  first  book,  "  At  Our  Best ;  or,  Making  the  Most  of  Life," 
—  a  book  distinctively  Emersonian  in  style. 

In  the  five  years,  1874  to  1879,  Mr.  Ellis  was  pastor  of  the 
Church  of  the  Redeemer,  in  Chicago.  During  this  time  he 
wrote  "  Hints  on  Preaching."  In  1880  his  companion,  who 
had  worshiped  him  in  her  childless  love  of  nearly  thirty  years, 
passed  on,  and  her  mortal  dust  he  bore  tenderly  back  to  the 
valley  under  the  shadows  of  Tully  Mountain,  in  the  native 
North  Orange  where,  every  summer,  they  had  spent  weeks  of 
recreation  and  rest  together. 

Rev.  Sumner  Ellis'  scholarship  was  formally  recognized  by 
Buchtel  College,  in  1880,  by  conferring  upon  him  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Divinity.  He  began  in  1881  the  labor  of  a  year 
and  a  half  in  writing  the  "  Life  of  Edwin  H.  Chapin,  D.D.," 
a  carefully  prepared  volume  of  over  three  hundred  pages,  which 
appeared  in  September,  1882,  —  probably  his  greatest  work. 

While  pastor  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  Chicago,  in  1883,  he 
married  Mrs.  A.  M.  Hall,  a  friend  from  her  girlhood,  and 
together  they  spent  fifteen  months  in  travel  abroad.  Six 
weeks  after  their  return  he  passed  away,  —  January  26,  1886; 
and  a  marble  shaft  at  North  Orange  marks  the  resting-place 
he  had  chosen. 

"  Gentle,  unobtrusive,  kind,  and  helpful,"  says  Dr.  H.  W. 
Thomas,  of  Chicago,  "he  was  loved  by  all."  Possibly  he 
lacked  in  self-confidence,  which  resulted  in  frequent  change  of 
pastorates  when  trifling  obstacles  appeared  in  his  pathway  ;  »but 
Dr.  Elmer  H.  Capen  well  says,  he  "did  an  important  and  a 
noble  work." 

We  cannot  now  make  a  complete  list  of  Dr.  Ballou's  students 
in  theology.  Many,  like  Massena  Goodrich,  made  use  of  his 
"Course  of  Study  "  under  his  personal  direction,  but  we  can 


STUDENTS  IN   THEOLOGY.  249 

add  to  those  already  named  the  following,  who  for  some  time 
lived  in  his  family :  Addison  G.  Fay,  Eben  Francis,  Isaac 
Brown,  J.  J.  Locke,  Charles  Spear,  John  M.  Spear,  J.  W. 
Talbot,  George  Bradburn,  J.  A.  Coolidge,  Edwin  A.  Eaton,  J. 
D.  Peirce,  —  who  were  nearly  all  preaching  half  a  century  ago, 
—  and,  among  his  latest  pupils  in  Medford,  Russell  A.  Ballon,  a 
distant  cousin,  who  married  for  his  first  wife  Harriet,  Dr. 
Ballou's  youngest  daughter.  One  after  another,  he  sent  his 
students  in  theology  out  into  the  world,  with  "counsel  and 
encouragement,"  and  through  them  the  circles  of  his  beneficent 
influence  were  largely  extended. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

ENDEAVORS  FOR  DENOMINATIONAL  EDUCATION. 

Scarcely  had  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  reached  his  twenty-first 
birthday  when,  at  the  General  Convention  of  Universalists 
held  at  Charlton,  Mass.,  in  1817,  he  was  appointed  one  of  a 
committee  "  to  carry  into  effect  a  subscription  of  Five  Thou- 
sand Dollars,"  and  "to  make  any  further  provisions  for  the 
success "  of  a  seminary  "  embracing  the  united  interests  of 
Literature  and  Religion."  Subscriptions  were  difficult  to  ob- 
tain, but  a  year  later,  thanks  to  the  liberality  of  a  devoted 
Universalist  layman,  Mr.  Amasa  Nichols,  a  merchant  of  Dud- 
ley, Mass.,  a  new  school  building  was  completed  to  replace  one 
that  had  been  burned  in  that  town,  which,  unaer  the  name  of 
Nichols  Academy,  was  incorporated  in  1819.  Rev.  Barton 
Ballou  was  the  first  principal.  Essentially  unsectarian,  it  was 
the  first  educational  institution  in  America  wholly  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Universalist  denomination. 

At  academies  and  colleges  under  Orthodox  auspices  the 
children  of  Universalist  parents  were  '"  frequently  ill-treated, 
their  cherished  convictions  were  ridiculed,  and  unjust  asper- 
sions were  cast  upon  them," — this  in  addition  to  a  persistent 
effort  to  make  proselytes  of  such  students. 

Ten  years  after  his  first  appointment  by  the  General  Con- 
vention on  an  educational  committee,  in  1827,  Hosea  Ballou, 
2d,  was  appointed  with  two  others  a  committee  to  devise  and 
report  a  plan  for  establishing  a  theological  seminary.  They 
reported  in  1828,  but  nothing  was  accomplished  more  tangible 
than  "  an  interesting  discussion." 

He  was  also  one  of  a  committee  of   three  on  whose  report, 

250 


ESDEAVORS   FOR   DENOMINATIONAL  EDUCATION.     251 

in  1836,  the  Boston  Association  of  Universalists  cautiously 
voted :  "  That  when  circumstances  render  it  convenient  to 
establish  and  support  schools  for  instruction  in  those  branches 
of  learning  proper  for  young  men  entering  the  ministry,  such 
institutions  are  desirable,  and  that  they  be  commended  to  the 
attention  of  our  brethren." 

In  1839  he  prepared  a  "  Review  of  the  Denomination  of 
Universalists  in  the  United  States,"  which  he  published  in  the 
March  number  of  the  Expositor  ^  of  that  year,  and  which 
being  widely  copied  by  the  nine  weekly,  two  serai-monthly, 
and  one  monthly  publications  then  issued  in  the  denomination,^ 
was  probably  read  in  whole  or  part  not  only  by  some  four 
hundred  and  thirty  clergy  then  in  the  denomination,  but  also 
by  a  large  share  of  the  half  million  persons^  who,  it  was  then 
estimated,  were  connected  with  Universalist  societies.  We 
haive  space  to  copy  only  three  paragraphs  of  the  article  :  — 

"The  present  is  emphaticall}'  an  age  of  popular  education. 
Already  has  great  progress  been  made  iu  this  respect,  aud  a  system 
of  measures  is  coming  into  operation  that  promises  to  elevate  the 
community  to  a  far  higher  degree  of  culture  and  intelligence  than  it 
has  ever  attained.  Who  are  the  leaders  iu  this  enterprise  ;  ourselves 
or  others?  Who  are  traversing  our  country  from  State  to  State, 
from  town  to  town,  rousing  the  public  mind  to  the  subject,  and  call- 
ing forth  its  energies  in  the  work?  We  fear  that  we  should  be 
found,  on  inquiry,  to  have  taken  but  little  active  part  in  the  move- 
ment and  to  have  yielded  to  it,  rather  than  to  have  carried  it  for- 
ward. Again  :  the  sects  around  us,  the  Presbyterians,  Congrega- 
tionalists,  Episcopalians,  Baptists,  and  lastly  the  Methodists,  are 
entering  with  all  their  spirit  into  the  higher  departments  of  educa- 
tion. Their  high  schools  are  established  in  all  our  large  towns ; 
academies  are  rising  up  under  their  patronage  on  every  hand  ;  their 
colleges,  with  liberal  donations,  are  multiplying  over  the   country. 

1  Pages  77-105. 

2  The  sum  total  of  their  subscribers  In  1839  was  said  to  exceed  thirty  thousand. 

3  "  Not  far  from  the  true  computation,"  Dr.  Ballou  thinks  (p.  77). 


252  ROSEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

It  needs  but  little  philosophy  to  perceive  what  must  be  the  influence 
of  these  measures,  extending  as  they  do,  in  their  ramifications, 
through  the  whole  mass  of  society.  To  think  of  measuring  the 
amount  of  their  effects  merely  by  the  number  of  scholars  in  the 
several  institutions  would  be  like  estimating  the  quantity  of  light  in 
an  illuminated  hall  by  the  solid  contents  of  flame  on  the  lamps.  In 
both  cases  the  influence  is  abroad  on  all  the  face  of  the  scene, 
in  every  nook  and  corner.  To  these  schools  go  our  young  men  and 
women  in  a  constant  succession,  there  to  be  imbued  with  new  senti- 
ments and  tastes ;  and  from  these  schools,  in  return,  come  our 
teachers,  our  lecturers,  writers,  the  living  host  of  minds  that 
bear  sway  in  every  department  of  life  and  thought.  What  have  we 
done  towards  providing  for  the  demands  that  grow  out  of  this  state 
of  things?  In  New  York  we  have,  indeed,  an  institution  under  our 
patronage  that  bids  fair  to  become,  ere  long,  a  hona-fide  college,  — 
thanks  to  the  life-devoted  exertions  of  a  brother  ^  whom  no  apathy 
could  discourage.  In  New  England  we  have  passed  votes,  starved 
two  academies  to  death,  and  apotheosized  another  into  a  university, 
and  so  sent  it  up  to  its  home  in  the  clouds.  In  the  farther  part  of 
Maine,  however,  w«  have  a  high  school  which  appears  to  be  doing 
well;  also  an  academy  or  two  in  Ohio,  and  —  this  is  all.  Should  it 
now  be  asked.  What  can  be  done?  How  can  we  compete  with  the 
other  sects  which  have  so  much  the  start  of  us  in  this  enterprise?  — 
the  answer  is,  This  is  not  required  of  us  at  present.  We  have  not, 
as  yet,  the  means  of  going  so  far.  What  we  need,  first  of  all,  is  to 
arouse  our  denomination  at  large  to  a  thorough  sense  of  its  wants, 
and  to  a  steady,  abiding  will  to  supply  them,  cost  what  it  may.  We 
need  to  begin,  and  to  begin  in  concert,  with  some  thoroughly  matured 
system  of  action  which  all  understand,  and  in  which  all  can 
join.  Would  we  establish  schools?  Let  them  be  very  few  at  first; 
let  their  location  be  selected  with  the  utmost  caution,  and  generally 
agreed  on  ;  see  that  they  be  placed  where  they  are  specially  needed 
and  where  the  people  will  support  them.  Commence  on  small  plans, 
and,  above  all  things,   with  humble  pretensions,  that  we  may  not 

iRev.  Stephen  R.  Smith,  then  of  Albany,  founder  of  Clinton  Liberal  Institute. 


ENDEAVORS  FOR  DENOMINATIONAL  EDUCATION.     253 

incur  failure  aggravated  by  ridicule  ;  and  then  let  us  work  ;  —  every- 
thing is  expressed  in  that  one  word,  tvork.  Earnest,  sober, 
persevering  action  will  be  a  satisfactory  pledge  of  success,  and  will 
bring  us  in  friends  and  aid  from  every  quarter,  by  reviving  the  hopes 
and  confidence  of  those  who  long  to  see  us  fairly  under  way. 

"  Much  has  been  said  on  the  importance  of  raising  the  standard 
of  intellectual  and  literary  qualifications  among  our  ministers.  We 
wish  to  offer  a  few  remarks  on  this  topic.  To  us  it  seems  that  the 
first  efficient  step  towards  so  desirable  an  object  is,  for  the  ministers 
frankly  to  come  down  before  our  denomination  to  their  real  level  in 
this  respect,  by  discarding,  every  one  of  us,  all  affectation  of 
attainments  that  we  do  not  actually  possess  —  a  mortifjnug  task  for 
many,  and  perhaps  for  the  writer  himself!  —  but  indispensable, 
whether  we  value  our  reputation  among  judges  or  regard  the  cause 
of  improvement.  It  is  one  of  the  absurdest  things  to  imagine  that 
we  can  set  up  a  standard  of  real  excellence  so  long  as  we  suffer  a 
fictitious  one,  the  mere  show  of  one,  to  be  maintained  with  impunity. 
Down,  then,  with  all  pretence;  away  with  all  Latin,  G-reek,  and 
Hebrew  parade,  by  such  as  are  unacquainted  with  those  languages. 
Expose,  lash  all  affectation  of  literary  research.  .  .  .  Now,  pretence 
is  so  cheap  a  thing  that  if  we  suffer  it  to  pass  current  among  us,  we 
may  well  despair  of  obtaining  much  of  the  hard-earned  reality. 
Let  us  see  to  this  matter,  in  the  first  place.  If  our  editors,  writers, 
and  preachers  will  exercise  a  censorship  over  it,  no  matter  how  geutle, 
so  it  only  be  faithful,  they  will  speedily  remove  whatsoever  evil  of  the 
kind  remains  in  our  connection  ;  and  we  shall  then  be  ready  to  con- 
centrate our  energies,  and  direct  them  efficiently  to  the  proper  objects. 

"  It  is  true  that  arrangements  of  a  more  definite  character  will 
still  be  necessary  for  carrying  on  the  work  of  ministerial  education  ; 
but  hearty  devotion  to  the  object  wjll,  of  itself,  lead  us  to  measures 
of  some  kind  that  will  answer  the  purpose.  Of  these  there  is  a 
variety  out  of  which  we  may  select,  according  to  our  judgment  and 
circumstances.  We  may  require,  in  ordinary  cases,  a  certain  amount 
of  study,  or  certain  specific  literary  attainments,  as  conditions  for 


254  HOSEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

a  Letter  of  Fellowship  ;  and  let  no  one  imagine  that  this  would 
impose  a  hardship  on  the  candidate,  unless,  indeed,  we  suppose  it 
would  be  a  favor  to  lead  him  into  the  work  unqualified,  to  his  per- 
petual regret  in  after  years.  Or,  perhaps,  we  may  trust,  in  a  great 
degree,  to  certain  facilities  and  encouragements  that  we  shall  provide 
for  this  end.  It  appears  to  us  that  were  we  but  generally  agreed  on 
a  school  designed  specially  for  candidates  in  the  ministry,  —  no 
matter  what  the  name.  Theological  Seminary,  or  anything  else,  — this 
would  be  the  means  best  adapted  in  every  way  to  our  object,  and 
attended  with  the  least  inconvenience.  AVho  can  meddle  with  this 
topic  without  giving  or  taking  offence  ?  We  think  we  can  ;  at  any 
rate,  we  will  try.  We  wish  to  speak  with  all  deference,  knowing 
that  our  opinion  is  opposed  to  that  of  some  good  judges  of  the  sub- 
ject, and  ardent  advocates  of  clerical  education.  A  school  of  the 
kind  proposed  would,  of  course,  have  the  same  advantages  in  this 
department  that  other  schools  have  over  a  haphazard  or  even 
private  mode  of  instruction  ;  since  the  candidate  for  the  ministry 
studies  by  the  same  mental  laws  as  do  the  candidates  for  other 
professions.  But  it  is  alleged  that  evils  result  from  these  schools  ; 
no  more,  however,  than  from  all  other  schools,  at  least  so  far  as  we 
have  discovered.  Now,  there  is  a  very  great  oversight  to  which  we 
are  liable  here  ;  when  we  speak  of  any  error  or  fault  in  the  sects 
around  us,  we  may  hastily  charge  it,  as  a  matter  of  course,  to  their 
theological  seminaries  ;  just  as  if  they  formerly  had  no  such  errors 
and  faults,  the  Orthodox,  Congregatioualists,  and  Presbyterians  till 
within  thirty  years,  the  Episcopalians  and  Baptists  till  within  twenty, 
the  Unitarians  till  within  fifteen,  and  the  Methodists  till  within  half 
a  dozen  years !  for  such  are  the  dates  of  their  earliest  theological 
schools  respectively.  And,  indeed,  we  ought  to  take  off  about  ten 
or  a  dozen  years  from  each  period,  to  allow  these  institutions  time  to 
produce  much  effect,  good  or  bad,  on  their  denominations  at  large. 
Compare  the  sentiments  and  character  of  the  clergy  in  these  sects, 
before  and  since,  and  if  it  is  not  found  that,  generally  speaking, 
the V  have  grown  more  liberal  in  doctrine,  and  less  aristocratic  and 
domineering,  less  confined  to  one  form  of  words  and  one  manner  of 


/^/U^-M.      (^I^>  r 


ENDEAVOBS  FOB   DENOMINATIONAL  EDUCATION.     255 

speaking  and  thinking,  we  have  certainly  read  their  history  back- 
wards. Not  that  we  would  attribute  all  the  improvement  barely  to 
their  theological  seminaries,  nor  intimate  that  there  are  not  faults 
enough  for  them  yet  to  correct.  We  cannot  resist  the  conviction, 
however,  that  the  fears  which  many  of  our  brethren  entertain  on 
this  point  are,  to  a  great  degree,  unfounded  in  the  nature  of  the 
case,  and  in  the  matter  of  historical  fact.  Still,  we  would  not  urge 
the  measure  in  opposition  to  the  wishes  of  others.  There  are  other 
methods  that  will  unquestionably  answer,  at  least  for  a  while.  Let 
us  agree  on  some  plan,  and  '  go  to  work.'  " 

Referring  to  the  remarkable  impulse  given  to  educational 
and  other  Universalist  institutions  just  prior  to  1840,  Rev.  Dr. 
T.  J.  Sawyer  says :  "  To  Dr.  Ballou  and  his  Expositor  much  of 
this  impulse  was  undoubtedly  due."  ^ 

The  year  following  the  publication  of  Dr.  Ballou's  plea  for 
education,  in  1840,  the  Massachusetts  Convention  resolved  that 
it  was  expedient  to  establish  a  "  seminary  for  the  preparation 
of  young  men  for  the  gospel  ministry,"  and  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  nominate  a  "  Board  of  Trustees,  whose  duty  it  shall 
be  to  select  a  site  for  an  institution,  to  take  a  deed  thereof  in 
trust  for  this  Convention,  to  raise  funds,  and  to  erect  a  suitable 
building,  to  appoint  its  principal  and  other  officers,  and  to  hold 
said  property  in  trust,  and  have  the  charge  and  supervision  of 
the  concerns  of  the  institution."  Before  the  trustees  were 
nominated  and  organization  effected,  "in  consequence  of  an 
offer  made  by  Mr.  Charles  Tufts,  of  Charlestown,  to  make  a 
gift  of  ten  acres  on  Walnut  Hill  ^  as  a  site  for  the  institution," 
the  name  "  Walnut  Hill  Evangelical  Seminary  "  was  adopted. 
At  the  organization  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  January  25, 
1841,  Dr.   Oliver   Dean^  was  chosen  president,  Rev.  Thomas 

1  See  Christian  Leader,  April  13, 1893.  =  Later  the  site  of  Tufts  College. 

3  Oliver  Dean,  born  i a  Franklin,  Mass.,  February  18,  1783,  was  tlie  founder  and  first 
president  of  the  Manchester  mills,  and  was  a  substantial  supporter  of  Dr.  Ballou's  educa- 
tional enterprises. 


256  HOSE  A  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

Whittemore,  secretary,  and  Timothy  Cotting,  Esq.,  treasurer, 
—  the  latter,  it  is  to  be  observed,  the  treasurer  of  the  First 
Universalist  Society  in  Medford.  Of  the  fifty  thousand  dollars 
which  was  to  be  raised  by  subscription  to  establish  the  semi- 
nary, each  of  the  above-named  officers  subscribed  one  thousand 
dollars,  as  did  also  Mr.  B.  B.  Mussey,  the  Boston  publisher,  and 
Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  obtained  in  smaller  subscriptions  twelve 
hundred  dollars,  —  a  total,  so  far  as  known,  Mr.  Tufts'  gift  of 
land  aside,  of  five  thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty-five 
dollars,  a  little  more  than  a  tenth  of  the  amount  required  to 
make  the  subscriptions  binding.  Although  trustees  were  ap- 
pointed from  all  the  New  England  States  and  New  York, 
and  an  agent  (Rev.  Calvin  Gardner)  was  put  in  the  field  to 
solicit  subscriptions,  and  meetings  were  held  in  Boston  in  June 
and  October,  and  in  Worcester  in  September,  to  promote  the 
object,  yet  on  October  3,  1841,  the  agent  wrote  :  "  Some  pre- 
liminary measures  were  deemed  needful ;  and  it  was  thought, 
upon  the  whole,  by  some  of  the  trustees,  that  I  had  better  delay 
for  a  short  time  active  operations."  But  it  is,  perhaps,  sig- 
nificant that  this  letter  was  not  written  until  the  General 
Convention  at  its  annual  session  in  New  York  in  September  ^ 
had  stopped  short  of  decisive  action  for  one  seminary,  with  the 
mere  expression  of  the  opinion  that  "  the  interests  of  the 
denomination  seem  to  render  it  important  that  theological 
institutions  be  established."  ^ 

The  Universalist  Register  for  1842  announced  "  Measures 
are  still  pursued  to  establish  a  theological  school  at  Walnut 
Hill,  in  Medford,"  ^  and  for  1843  it  made  the  same  announce- 


1  See  sermon  on  Gen.  ii.  15,  urging  work,  preached  by  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  on  this  occa- 
sion, in  volume  of  "  Convention  Sermons,  1841,"  pp.  82-95. 

-  This  formal  avowal  was  a  point  gained,  for  some  of  the  older  clergy  who  had  taken 
young  men  into  their  families,  and  found  it  easy  to  make  preachers,  would  have  young  men 
"  go  alone  to  the  school  of  Christ  — to  the  Holy  Bible  —  to  obtain  their  divinity,"  as  Na- 
thaniel Stacy  said,  "  and  not  to  human,  theological  institutions."  s  Page  49. 


CHARLESTOWN  UNIVERSALIST  CHURCH. 


WALNU7   HILL  EVANGELICAL   SEMINABY.  257 

ment,i  but  the  Register  for  1844  announced:  "The  Walnut 
Hill  Theological  Seminary  appears  to  be  dropped,  at  least  for 
the  present."  ^  So  the  generous  intentions  of  Charles  Tufts, 
the  quiet  and  unpretentious  member  of  the  First  Universalist 
Society  in  Charlestown,  were  not  at  once  realized. 

No  doubt  Mr.  Tufts  met  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  often  on  the  way 
to  and  from  the  Medford  farm  which  he  had  inherited,  and 
Mr.  Ballou  could  be  trusted  to  inspire  the  confidence  of  even 
so  distrustful  a  man.  For  Mr.  Tufts  was  deaf,  and  it  is  said 
that  while  blindness  tends  to  make  one  trustful,  deafness  makes 
the  unfortunate  suspicious.  By  nature  and  acquaintance  he 
was  fitted  for  the  task.  His  first  sermon  in  Boston  or  vicinity 
Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  had  preached,  Sunday,  July  3,  1819,  in  "  Br. 
Turner's  M.  H. "  (so  his  record  reads)  in  Charlestown,  where 
George  Bunker  and  Martha  Bunker,^  his  ancestors,  had  lived, 
and  for  twenty  years  the  records  show  there  had  scarcely  been  an 
occasion  of  great  joy  or  of  great  sorrow  in  that  society  in  which 
he  had  not  been  invited  to  take  part.  Mr.  Tufts  was  "  land- 
poor  "  ;  asked  once  what  he  would  do  with  that  "  bleak  hill 
over  in  Medford,"  he  replied,  "  I  will  put  a  light  on  it." 

An  act  was  passed  February  27,  1 811,  incorporating  Moses 
Hall,  Timothy  Thompson,  Jr.,  Thomas  Edmands,  and  others 
as  the  First  Universalist  Society  in  Charlestown,  —  so  says  the 
copy  made  by  James  K.  Frothingham  *  in  vol.  I,  pp.  1,  2,  of  the 
Society  records.  The  new  church  was  dedicated  and  Rev. 
Abner  Kneeland  installed  first  pastor,  September  5,  1811,  Rev. 

1  Page  50.  2  Page  46. 

3  See  p.  20.  George  Bunker,  lor  whom  Bunker  Hill  was  named,  came  to  Charlestown 
in  1634.  His  second  grunt  (1638)  consisted  of  '•  2i  lots  (the  most  numerous  grant  within 
the  town),"  says  Wymau.  The  records  say  he  was  admitted  "21  (12)  1634-5,"  and  his 
wife  "  17  (2)  1636,"  to  the  church  which  shortly  called  Rev.  John  Harvard,  the  future 
founder  of  Harvard  College,  as  its  minister.  It  was  their  second  daughter,  Martha,  who 
married  John,  son  of  Dr.  Comfort  Starr,  and  brother  of  Dr.  Thomas  Starr,  the  Charles- 
town "Chlrurgeon"  and, in  1654,  "clerk  of  the  writs."  George  Bunker  was  a  patron  of  the 
infant  college,  and,  like  John  Harvard,  bequeathed  his  possessions  by  a  nuncupative  will. 

■>  His  brother,  Richard  Frotliingham,  father  of  Richard,  Jr.,  the  historian,  and  of  Mrs. 
Mary  T.  Goddard,  was  also  a  member  of  the  society  in  Its  early  days. 


258  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

Hosea  Ballou,  then  of  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  preaching  the  ser- 
mon from  Rev.  ii.  10 :  "  Be  thou  faithful  unto  death,  and  I 
will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life." 

March  30,  1812,  the  name  Tufts  first  appears  in  the  Society 
records  when,  at  the  annual  meeting,  it  was  ^  voted  that  Mr. 
Daniel  Tufts  "  and  six  others  "•  be  a  committee  for  the  Society 
the  year  ensuing,"  and  Mr.  Tufts  was  reelected  the  following 
year,  and  declined  a  third  election. 

He  was  a  brickmaker  and  farmer.  Says  Hon.  Timothy  T. 
Sawyer :  ^  "  He  represented  the  town  in  the  Legislature  of  1811 
and  1812  as  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  His 
sons  were  Daniel,  Jr.,  Gilbert,  Charles,  and  Nathan."  Daniel 
Tufts  lived  "outside  of  the  Neck."  He  was  descended  from 
Peter  Tufts,  who  was  born  in  England  in  1617,  and  emigrated 
about  1638  from  Maiden,  County  of  Essex,  near  which  was  a 
"place  or  villa  called  Tuftes."  According  to  Wyman  he 
"  kept  the  ferry,  1646-7."  ^  Dying  May  13,  1700,  he  left  "  a 
large  estate  in  lands  situated  in  Maiden  and  Medford  which 
were  held  by  his  descendants  for  a  very  long  period  after." 
His  son  John  had  a  son  Peter,  "  housewright,"  who  had  a  son 
Nathan,  "  cordwainer "  and  farmer  in  Medford,  the  father  of 
Daniel,  above  named. 

Daniel's  son,  Charles  Tufts,  "  was  a  farmer  and  brickmaker, 
and  a  large  landowner  in  that  part  of  Charlestown  set  off  to 
Somerville  when  it  was  made  a  separate  town.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  First  Universalist  Society,  and  for  many  years 
his  horse  and  carriage  could  be  seen  every  Sunday  in  one  of 
the  sheds  which  formerly  stood  in  the  churchyard,  while  with 
his  wife  (he  had  no  children)  he  was  occupying  his  pew  in 
the  church.  Both  Mr.  Tufts  and  his  wife  took  great  interest  in 
the  Universalist  denomination."  ^ 

1  In  Charlestown  Enterprise,  March  16,  1889. 

-  See  Wyman's  "  Genealogies  and  Estates  of  Charlestown,  "  vol.  II,  p.  968. 

3  Hon.  Timothy  T.  Sawyer,  in  Charlestown  Enterprise,  March  16, 1889. 


CHABLES   TUFTS.  259 

Charles  Tufts  was  born  July  17, 1781.  Although  he  enjoyed 
only  limited  educational  advantages,  the  Tufts  family  were 
believers  in  higher  education.  Of  the  eighteen  Medford  men 
who  graduated  from  Harvard  College  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, nine  bore  the  name  Tufts.  Excepting  Charles  Tufts,  his 
father,  Daniel,  and  Peter  Tufts,  Jr.,  the  family  in  Charlestown 
were  rigidly  orthodox  in  religious  views.  But  Charles  Tufts' 
wife,  Hannah  Robinson,  shared  his  deep  interest  in  Univer- 
salism  and  encouraged  his  generous  designs.  Born  April  25, 
1795,  Mrs.  Tufts  ^  was  the  daughter  of  Jacob  Robinson,  of 
Cambridge,  and  a  descendant  of  William  Robinson,  who  first 
settled  near  the  site  of  Auburndale.  A  tall  woman,  more 
forceful  than  graceful,  she  was  a  sensible  woman,  and  at  her 
best  took  a  liberal  view  of  life.  She  was  ambitious  for  Univer- 
salism.  Not  only  did  she  approve  Mr.  Tufts'  offer  in  1840,  and 
his  gifts  to  the  new  college  which  — after  the  example  of  John 
Harvard's  beneficiary  —  in  due  course  took  his  name,  but  she 
urged  it  with  characteristic  energy  and  confirmed  it  by  legal 
action  on  her  own  part.  When  the  town  of  Somerville  was 
set  off  from  Charlestown  she  approved  Mr.  Tufts'  gift  of  the 
land  on  Tufts  Street  for  the  new  Universalist  Chapel,  and 
when  the  new  church  on  Cross  Street  was  built  she  gave  the 
bell.  She  was  very  much  vexed  about  forty  years  ago  to  learn 
that  a  young  lady  of  Universalist  parentage  was  playing  the 
organ  at  a  Methodist  church,  and  promptly  proposed  to  pay 
the  musician  liberally  herself  to  secure  her  services  for  the 
Universalist  Chapel.  Economy  and  thrift  were  the  order  of 
the  Tufts  household,  and  street  beggars  might  find  the  Tufts 
house  an  armed  fortress,  but  the  great  benefaction  to  Tufts 
College  is  enduring  proof  that,  in  the  cause  for  which  Hosea 
Ballon,  2d,  labored,  and  which  they  loved,  they  were  second 
to  no  contemporary  Universalists  in  generosity.     On  Sunday, 

iThe  late  Gov.  George  D.  Robinson  and  Hon.  Charles  Robiuson  were  her  nephews. 


260  HOSE  A  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

December  24,  1876,  Charles  Tufts  died  in  his  ninety-sixth 
year,  and  Mrs.  Tufts  soon  followed  him  to  the  spirit  world. 

Meanwhile,  however,  to  take  up  our  narrative,  efforts  were 
made  in  another  direction.  In  1845  an  effort  was  made  to 
give  this  movement  definite  shape  by  the  establishment  of  a 
theological  department  at  Clinton  Liberal  Institute,  where  for 
several  years  Rev.  Stephen  R.  Smith  and  Rev.  Timothy  Clowes 
had  prepared  students  for  the  Universalist  ministry ;  it  was 
proposed  to  raise  a  fund  of  $10,000  to  endow  the  department, 
and  for  the  income  derived  from  such  fund  Rev.  Thomas  J. 
Sawyer,  the  newly  elected  principal  of  the  Institute,  was  to 
give  two  hours'  instruction  each  day. 

July  31,  1845,  Hosea  Ballon,  2d,  wrote  Mr.  Sawyer:  — 

"I  am  rejoiced  to  learu  through  Brother  Chapin  the  arrangements 
which  have  been  made  for  Clinton  Institute.  The  only  drawback  is 
the  thought  of  Orchard  Street,  and  of  the  cause  in  your  city.  But 
still  I  think  that,  whatever  may  be  the  effect  there,  we  have  good 
reason  to  anticipate  an  important  advantage  to  the  cause  of  truth  at 
large,  from  your  labors  at  Clinton.  You  will  probably  find  your 
task  a  very  laborious  one  for  a  while,  demanding  much  patience  and 
forbearance  as  well  as  activity,  in  order  to  get  things  into  shape  and 
to  put  them  in  motion.  I  have  had  no  opportunity  as  yet  to  inquire 
into  the  arrangements  for  securing  the  necessary  pecuniary  assist- 
ance. No  doubt,  however,  this  has  been  looked  to.  I  trust  some 
plan  will  be  pursued  to  secuve.  a  permanent  fund.  Temporary  con- 
tributions may  suffice  to  set  the  school  a-going  ;  but  there  ought  to  be 
something  more  substantial  to  maintain  it.  And  now,  at  the  com- 
mencement, is  the  best  time  to  interest  the  public,  while  the  thing  is 
new,  and  before  the  excitement  of  novelty  has  subsided.  Do  you 
propose  to  bring  the  subject  before  the  General  Convention  at  its 
approaching  session  ?  If  so,  ought  not  a  plan  to  be  well  matured 
beforehand,  with  most  of  its  details  marked  out,  and  the  cooperation 
of  some  influential  and  wealthy  laymen  secured  in  different  parts  of 
the  country?     The  public  deliberations  of  such  a  body  as  our  Con- 


A    COLLEGE   OR    UNIVERSITY.  261 

vention  are  so  little  adapted  to  originate  a  plan  of  this  kind,  that  I 
should  very  much  fear  the  result,  should  the  matter  in  its  unformed 
state  be  submitted  to  the  Council.  However,  you  have  doubtless 
thought  of  all  these  points,  and  provided  for  them.  The  only  reason 
why  I  mention  them  at  all  is,  the  importance  which  I  attach  to 
present  action,  —  do  all  we  can  while  the  first  impulse  lasts." 

The  preamble  and  resolution  adopted  by  the  General  Con- 
vention in  September,  1845,  at  the  School  Street  Church, 
Boston,  in  relation  to  the  Theological  Department  at  Clinton,^ 
it  is  thought  were  drafted  by  Dr.  Ballon.  At  the  General  Con- 
vention at  Troy,  N.  Y.,  September  16,  1846,  H.  Ballon,  2d, 
T.  J.  Greenwood,  J.  Boyden,  Jr.,  K.  Haven,  and  C.  H.  Rogers 
reported  through  the  chairman  of  the  committee,  Hosea  Ballon, 
2d,  a  recommendation 2  that  "one  or  more  Agents"  be  ap- 
pointed "in  every  State  in  the  Union  in  which  there  is  a  Uni- 
versalist  Convention,"  "  with  proper  instructions,  to  solicit  sub- 
scriptions from  individuals  to  the  funds  of  said  [Clinton] 
Institute,  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  it  into  a  College  or  Uni- 
versity ;  which  subscriptions  shall  become  due,  when  sums  to 
the  amount  of  $50,000  shall  have  been  thus  subscribed." 

In  1846  Mr.  Sawyer  wished  to  be  relieved  of  charge  of  the 
Theological  School,  and  Dr  Ballon,  fresh  with  the  honors  of 
Harvard  University,^  was  elected  principal,  and  requested  "  to 
remove  to  Clinton  and  enter  upon  his  duties  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible," at  a  salary  of  $800.  Suffice  it  to  say,  neither  the  en- 
dowment nor  the  salary  was  ever  raised,  and  from  the  quiet  of 
his  study  in  Medford,  Dr.  Ballon  continued  his  crusade  in  favor 
of  denominational  education,  as  appears  by  a  letter,  March  16, 
1847,  to  "  Brother  Sawyer."     He  concludes  :  — 

"And  now,  as  to  Clinton  Institute  and  Theological  School. 
What  are  the  trustees  doing?     You   say,  'We  are   doing   nothing 

^  See  Universalist  Miscellany,  vol.  Ill,  p.  153. 
^Ibid.,  vol.  IV,  p.  195.  »  See  p.  161. 


262  ROSEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

effectual.'  By '  we,'  I  suppose  you  mean  the  trustees  and  patrons, 
or  those  who  should  be  patrons  of  the  institution.  If  so,  that  is 
bad,  though  no  more  than  I  feared.  I  fear  they  have  not  the 
faintest  conception  of  the  nature  of  the  task  they  have  undertaken. 
What  we  told  the  few  trustees  whom  we  met  with  in  Clinton  last 
fall,  is  the  simple  truth,  —  that,  if  they  intend  to  do  anything 
available,  they  must  go  to  work  immediately,  and  work  hard,  just  as 
they  would  do  if  they  were  getting  up  a  new  factory  village,  — 
spare  no  pains,  nor  time,  nor  even  cash,  if  they  have  any.  If  they 
will  not  do  all  this,  and  do  it  now,  this  very  spring,  we  may  just  as 
well  give  up  all  hopes  of  Clinton  at  once,  as  to  have  them  die  the 
lingering  death  of  protracted  suspense.  ...  If  there  be  any  pros- 
pect whatsoever  that  the  trustees  and  New  York  friends  of  Clinton 
will  act,  I  hope  you  will  not  leave  the  Institute.  Should  you  have 
to  sacrifice  much,  the  object  is  important  enough  to  justify  you  in 
doing  so,  —  and  I  will  add,  —  to  make  it  your  duty,  I  think,  to  do 
so.  The  hona-fide  establishment  of  a  college  would  be  worth  the 
sacrifice  of  one's  life,  and  would  repay  it,  in  the  grateful  remem- 
brance of  future  generations,  as  well  as  in  the  consciousness  of  con- 
ferring a  lasting  blessing  on  the  cause  of  true  religion.  It  is  my 
ardent  prayer  that  this  honor  may  be  yours,  without  the  sacrifice  ; 
but  even  with  the  sacrifice,  I  feel  what  thousands  of  others  will 
feel,  that  blessed  is  the  man  to  whom  the  lot  fall.   .   .   . 

"  I  have  given  up  all  expectation  of  being  myself  called  to  Clin- 
ton. Nothing  will  be  done  to  found  the  Theological  School.  Brother 
Smith's  proposal  to  our  ministers  to  give  $100  apiece,  is  not  the 
way  to  begin  the  work,  though  it  might  have  come  in  well  enough  at 
the  end  of  a  heavy  subscription  to  the  Institute.  Beginning  with 
this,  I  will  stand  security  under  $30,000  bonds,  that  he  shall  not  get 
$1,000.  All  notion  of  wheedling  the  necessary  amount  out  of  the 
people,  in  small  sums  from  each,  —  of  making  it  a  soothing,  pretty, 
titillating  process,  will  fall  to  the  ground,  as  it  ought.  We  have  got 
to  go  to  one  rich  old  fellow,  and  say,  point-blank,  '  Sir,  you  must 
put  down  $10,000  on  this  subscription  paper,  to  be  paid  so  and  so. 
There  is  such  a  professorship  to  be  endowed,  and  the  college  cannot 


A   COLLEGE   OR    UNIVERSITY.  263 

be,  without  it.  You  are  the  man  to  do  it,  and  to  give  what  name  you 
please  to  the  professorship.  You  are  worth  $300,000  ;  A.  B.  of 
such  a  place,  and  B.  C.  of  such  a  place,  and  four  others  are  worth 
each  $100,000  ;  and  their  names  are  down  for  $5,000  apiece,  on  con- 
dition that  we  get  the  $10,000  from  you.'  Never  leave  him  until 
the  sum  is  subscribed.  .  .  .  This  will  bring  the  amount  required 
with  the  help  of  smaller  sums,  which  will  be  easily  obtained  when 
once  a  few  leading  donations  have  been  made.  It  is  the  supreme 
height  of  folly  to  take  any  other  course.  So,  at  least,  I  prophesy. 
Why,  I  myself,  as  poor  as  I  am,  would  give  $100,  if  I  saw  the  thing 
going  on  with  spirit ;  and  there  are  hundreds  of  others  who  would 
do  the  same,  with  no  more  means,  on  that  condition,  —  but  not 
otherwise. 

"As  to  a  convention  on  the  subject,  —  if  you  mean  a  sort  of 
mass  meeting,  I  have  no  faith  in  it.  They  would  run  wild  with  a 
thousand  puerile  projects,  or  at  least  with  some  half  dozen,  each 
contrary  to  the  rest,  and  none  of  them  practicable,  or  of  any  worth, 
even  if  practicable.  Magniloquent  votes,  and  resolutions  on  paper, 
would  be  the  sole  permanent  result. 

"There  are  so  many  considerations  in  favor  of  Clinton,  or  of  that 
region,  as  a  central  point  between  New  England  and  the  west  of 
New  York,  etc.,  that,  if  the  institution  were  to  be  located  anew,  I 
should  rather  wish  that  it  might  be  placed  somewhere  thereabouts. 
I  may  have  some  mere  local  prejudices ;  I  think  not  very  inveterate 
ones,  however.  At  present,  and  for  a  long  time  to  come,  there 
would  be  some  advantages  of  another  kind,  in  having  it  in  New 
England ;  but  I  do  not  know  that  they  would  even  now  outbalance 
those  of  your  part  of  the  country,  and  they  would  gradually  gather 
around  a  respectable  college  wherever  it  might  be ;  so  that  the 
longer  the  period  to  which  we  look  forward,  the  less  would  be  the 
peculiar  considerations  that  now  point  toward  New  England.  I  have 
not,  therefore,  any  preference,  on  the  whole,  for  a  more  Eastern 
location.  .  .  . 

"  Lo,  now,  what  an  expanse  of  scrawl!  pity  on  the  President  of 
Clinton,  who  has  to  decipher  the  whole.     Be  propitious,  ye  gods, 


264  HOSEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

and  give  him  large  store  of  strength,  patience,  good  ej'esight,  imper- 
turbability, and  sovereign  contempt  of  my  scarecrow  representations. 
Yours  with  respect  and  esteem, 

H.  BALLOU,  2i>. 
Eev.  T.  J.  Savtyer. 

"P.  S.  —  On  looking  at  your  letter  again,  I  catch  you  tripping. 
You  speak  of  the  song  of  one  Joseph  Young,  about  '  Procrastina- 
tion.' Holla,  for  the  President  of  Clinton  Liberal  Institute,  who 
mistakes  Dr.  Edward  Young  for  Joseph !  Hollah !  Hurrah ! 
Whoor-r-r-r-rah ! " 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

TUFTS   COLLEGE. 

"  The  movement  resulting  in  the  founding  of  the  college," 
says  the  Tufts  College  Catalogue,  "was  set  on  foot  in  1847, 
through  the  efforts  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  J.  Sawyer,  of  New 
York,  the  Rev.  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  of  Medford,  and  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Whittemore,  of  Cambridgeport."  Reference  is  fre- 
quently made  to  the  "  Educational  Convention "  held  in  New 
York  City,  May  18,  1847,  of  clerg}'-  and  laymen  of  New  York 
and  the  New  England  States,  in  which  those  three  men  were 
the  leading  spirits,  and  to  the  "  Occasional  Sermon  "  preached 
before  the  General  Convention  of  Universalists,  in  the  same 
place,  on  Wednesday  morning,  the  fifteenth  day  of  the  follow- 
ing September,  by  Rev.  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  d.d.,  as  the  first  steps 
in  the  establishment  of  Tufts  College.  Vital  as  these  two 
events  were,  however,  it  seems  to  the  writer  that  the  time  had 
come  for  the  seed  planted  in  1817,  1827,  1839,  and  particularly 
in  1846,  in  Dr.  Ballou's  plans  for  a  "  College  or  University,"  as 
we  have  shown,^  to  spring  up  under  more  favorable  conditions 
and  bear  fruit.  Be  it  far  from  me,  however,  to  detract  one  iota 
from  the  influence  ascribed  to  Dr.  Ballou's  sermon  on  "  The  re- 
sponsibilities of  Universalists  in  the  position  they  now  hold 
before  God  and  the  world,"  ^  before  a  crowded  house  of  repre- 
sentative Universalists  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  not  only 
in  the  establishment  of  Tufts  College,  but  also  of  St.  Lawrence 
University  at  Canton,  N.  Y.,  and  Lombard  University  at  Gales- 

1  See  chap.  XII. 

-  This  discourse  is  printed  in  full  in  the  Trumpet  of  October  2, 1847,  also  lu  "  Counsel 
aud  Encouragement." 

265 


266  HO  SEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

burg,  111.,  shortly  after,  in  the  full  tide  of  prosperity  and  enthu- 
siasm. Said  the  Trumpet :  "  The  large  audience  were  kept  in- 
tensely interested  for  nearly  an  hour  and  a  half,  and  those  who 
were  obliged  to  stand  during  the  whole  delivery  declared,  many 
of  them,  that  not  a  single  thought  of  their  position  entered  into 
their  minds  during  the  whole  discourse."  In  conclusion  Dr. 
Ballon  said,  the  people  are  "  more  ready  to  act  than  we  are  to 
give  them  a  proper  opportunity.  Only  touch  the  sleeping  giant, 
and  the  nightmare  spell  is  broken." 

It  was  a  fortunate  preparation  for  the  Educational  Conven- 
tion, which  was  held  two  days  later,  September  17, 1847.  After 
an  experience  of  some  years  as  an  Overseer  of  Harvard  Univer- 
sity, and  the  recollection  of  repeated  disaster  through  insufficient 
endowment  of  Universalist  schools.  Dr.  Ballon  had  declared 
at  the  May  meeting  that  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  must  be 
subscribed  at  the  outset,  and  the  Educational  Convention  had 
accepted  his  opinion  by  a  formal  vote,  and  had  also  appointed 
him  one  of  a  "  business  committee  "  of  five  "  to  procure  an 
agent,  or  agents,  to  raise  the  amount."  ^  A  contract  was  en- 
tered into  with  Rev.  Otis  A.  Skinner  to  get  one  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  subscribed,  "  or  receive  nothing  for  his  services." 
The  consideration  was  the  liberal  commission  of  ten  per  cent  to 
him,  which  was  interpreted  to  include  certain  large  subscrip- 
tions already  practically  assured.^ 

Ten  months  passed,  and  Dr.  Ballon  wrote  the  following 
letter :  — 

Halifax,  Vt.,  July  18,  1848. 

Brother  Saivyer,  —  .  .  .  As  to  the  change  of  location  for  the  pro- 
posed college,  I  do  not  know  whether  it  was  a  wise  measure  or  not. 
I  am  sure  it  is  a  thiug  perfectly  indifferent  to  me  whether  it  be  in  the 

»  See  Tufts  College  Records,  vol.  I,  p.  3. 

2  By  report  of  Committee  on  Finance,  August  16, 1855,  appropriations  were  made  in  pay- 
ment of  Mr.  Skinner's  claims  as  Agent  (including  "  salary  for  two  years  at  $800,  $1,600") 
of  $8,336.71. 


LOCATION  OF   THE    COLLEGE.  267 

neighborhood  of  Springfield  ox'  in  the  valley  of  the  Hudson.  Brother 
Skinner  thought  it  better  to  take  the  ground  he  adopted,  —  suppos- 
ing that  it  would  be  more  acceptable  to  the  New  Englanders.  I  do 
not  think,  however,  that  it  will  make  much  difference  in  their  feelings. 
I  wish  that  you  may  find  time,  when  you  are  at  Hartford,  to  run  up 
to  Springfield,  and  cast  an  eye  over  the  appearance  of  the  country 
there,  with  a  view  to  any  action  that  you  may  be  called  upon  to  take 
in  Committee.  It  is  certainly  a  delightful  region  ;  but  it  strikes  me 
(who  am  no  more  qualified  to  judge,  than  I  am  empowered  to  do  so 
in  the  case)  that  if  the  institution  be  located  in  that  vicinity,  it  would 
be  better  to  have  it  placed  about  a  town's  width  back  from  it  now. 
As  to  your  presidentship  of  the  thing  (if  it  ever  becomes  a  thing), 
I  hope  you  will  not  speak  disparagingly  or  deprecatingly  of  it.  In 
my  view  the  fact  is  this  :  We  must  have  you  for  president,  for  want 
of  anybody  else  who  is  at  all  qualified  for  the  office.  Just  cast  over 
in  3'our  mind  our  resources  for  this  purpose,  and  you  will  see,  that  of 
all  who  are  now  on  the  stage,  you  are  the  only  one  who  can  be  seri- 
ously thought  of  for  that  oflSce  —  no  matter  how  poorly  qualified  you 
may  think  yourself.  I  say,  you  are  the  only  one  ;  for  I  do  not  sup- 
pose the  choice  will  fall  on  any  one  who  has  not  shown  himself  a 
decided  Universalist  in  his  attachments  as  well  as  in  his  belief.  So, 
do  not  allow  yourself  to  throw  cold  water  on  the  enterprise,  by  refus- 
ing to  listen  to  any  suggestions  which  may  point  to  you.  If  the 
project  succeeds,  the  presidentship  will  be  an  office  not  to  be  sneezed 
at,  as  Homer  says.  If  it  does  not  succeed,  there's  the  end  on't, 
and  no  more  said. 

December  31,  1849,  he  again  wrote  to  Rev.  T.  J.  Sawyer :  — 

"  As  for  the  college,  Brother  Skinner  has  got  on  to  the  last  $25,000  ; 
and  this  he  will  obtain,  and  no  mistake.  So,  put  it  down  as  a  cer- 
tainty, humanly  speaking.  There  is  one  thing  that  troubles  me  with 
respect  to  the  concern.  Some  of  the  donors  seem  to  prefer  Walnut 
Hill,  between  Medford  and  Old  Cambridge,  for  the  site  of  the  col- 
lege. I  should  have  no  objection  to  placing  a  Theological  School 
there,  if  separate ;  but  a  college  there  would  be  exposed  to  the  dis- 


268  HOSEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

advantage  of  competition,  at  least  comparison,  with  old,  richly 
endowed  Harvard,  right  before  its  face.  When  the  question  comes 
up,  it  appears  to  me  we  ought  to  do  all  we  can  to  dissuade  from  that 
selection.  I  differ  from  you  in  thinking  that  the  Mohawk  Valley  is 
the  place.  By  far  the  larger  part  of  the  subscriptions  are  from  New 
England ;  and  when  New  England  has  one  Universalist  College  in 
full  operation,  another  will  soon  be  wanted,  and  established,  in 
Central  New  York.  Only  get  the  ice  fairly  broken,  and  our  people 
will  not  think  it  is  so  great  an  undertaking  to  build  a  second  college, 
as  they  do  the  first."  ^ 

lu  reply  to  a  letter  of  January  14,  Dr.  Ballou  wrote  again, 
January  21,  1850,  to  the  president  of  Clinton  Liberal  In- 
stitute :  — 

"  I  have  often  had  the  hypochondria  in  excelsis,  or  rather  in  pro- 
fundis,  when  observing  the  practical  indifference  of  our  folks  with 
respect  to  education,  their  contempt  of  systematic  culture,  their  mag- 
netic attraction  to  foolish  hobbyhorses.  I  have  spent  half  my  life 
thinking  that  I  was  a  gone  goose,  and  exclaiming,  '  Wherefore  have 
I  humbled  myself,  and  thou  takest  no  knowledge?'  But  it  does  no 
good  to  give  way  to  these  despondencies  and  vexations.  We  do 
make  some  progress,  after  all,  and  thanks  for  that  little  progress. 
Somebody  must  purchase  every  step  of  advance  by  suffering  and 
privation ;  why  should  it  not  be  you  ?  Your  labor  will  not  be  lost. 
The  seed  you  sow  may  not  spring  up  so  early  in  the  season  as 
you  may  wish.  I  think  it  is  a  late  season,  as  they  say  ;  our  spring 
has  been  very  cold  and  dry,  and  our  crops  look  singed-cat-ish,  and 
of  course  the  farmers  are  loud  in  their  apprehensions  that  we  shall 
have  no  harvests,  as  they  always  are  in  such  cases.  But  I  have 
observed  one  thing :  that  about  the  second  week  in  July  always 
brings  the  growth  up  to  the  standard  size,  whether  the  earlier  part  of 
the  season  were  promising  or  discouraging.  We  shall  have  a  College 
yet,  and  we  shall  slowly  grow  into  a  well-informed  and  cultivated 

1  In  this,  Dr.  Ballou's  highest  expectations  were  more  than  realized,  for  the  founding 
of  Tufts  College,  in  1852,  was  followed  in  1856  by  that  of  St.  Lawrence  University,  at 
Canton,  N.  Y.,  and  by  that  of  Lombard  University  at  Galesburg,  111.,  also  in  1856. 


LOCATION  OF   THE   COLLEGE.  269 

people,  though  not  till  after  a  good  many  temporai*y  relapses  that 
are  yet  to  come.  I  think,  however,  that  we  have  already  sowed  our 
worst  crop  of  wild  oats.  I  do  not  anticipate  that  any  future  growth 
will  turn  out  from  any  ministry  such  a  proportion  of  Dodses,  Burrs, 
Matthew  Smiths,  lecturers  on  phrenology,  Thompsouian  doctors, 
Fourierites,  Dairsites,  conjurers,  electro-biologers,  devil-mongers. 
Great  Ideaists,  frogs,  flies,  and  lice  of  Egypt.  It  appears  strange 
to  me  that  our  Omniscienteulffi  disbelieve  Moses'  miracles  before 
Pharaoh.  Have  they  not  been  brought  ovei-  again  in  our  own  day? 
Let  us  take  heart ;  we  've  done  about  our  worst,  and  if  we  do  any- 
thing in  future,  it  must  be  better.  I  do  not  wonder  that  you  often 
feel  quite  down  in  the  mouth.  It  is  enough  to  vex  patience  itself. 
You  have  read  the  life  of  Luther,  — wUat  vexation  and  despondency 
towards  the  close  of  his  days  !  And  yet,  that  Reformation  turned 
out  to  be  no  small  affair  in  the  world's  history.  I  think  that  Univer- 
salism  may  yet  be  made  to  do  its  '  mission,'  as  our  great  geniuses 
say.  Only,  we  must  not  think  it  is  going  to  be  done  by  ease,  and 
honor,  and  glorification.  We,  or  somebody,  have  got  to  labor  like 
hired  servants  under  our  '  great  Taskmaster's  eye,'  and,  like  our 
Exemplar,  '  the  Man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with  griefs'  we  shall 
have  to  bear  with  sloth  and  perversity,  and  well-meant  mistakes  and 
follies,  even  among  ourselves,  as  well  as  with  opposition  from  without, 
—  which  is  a  trifle  in  comparison.  I  once  used  to  preach  that  the  text 
'  through  much  tribulation  ye  must  enter  the  kingdom '  had  no 
deeper  signification  than  was  to  be  found  in  its  application  to  the 
then  existing  state  of  persecution.  But  I  left  off  preaching  so,  more 
than  a  dozen  years  ago.  It  is  God's  universal  ordinance  that  all 
great  works,  especially  every  important  reform,  should  be  accom- 
plished only  with  proportionate  toil,  privation,  and  suffering.  If  we 
will  not  submit  to  the  condition,  hard  as  it  may  seem,  we  must  not 
look  for  the  position.  Thank  God,  there  's  enough  for  us  to  do,  yet ; 
and  in  my  better  moods,  I  only  repine  that  I  have  done  so  little,  and 
that  I  am  doing  so  little,  in  the  great  task  that  is  given  us.  I  once 
had  some  visions,  or  dreams,  of  competence  and  ease  in  the  latter 
part  of  life,  should  I  live  to  old  age.     All  that  is  past ;  and  at  times, 


270  HO  SEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

even  now,  my  heart  utterly  misgives  me  on  this  account,  and,  such 
is  my  weakness,  I  sink  into  hopeless  despondency.  But  this  is 
folly,  perfect  folly.  It  does  me  no  good,  nor  anybody  else.  It 
unnerves  what  little  power  I  have  to  work  ;  and  work,  not  ease,  is 
the  business  and  blessedness  of  life.  Could  we  dare  to  aspire  so 
high,  what  greater  reward  could  we  hope  for,  than  that  beatitude, 
'  Blessed  are  they  that  die  in  the  Lord  ;  yea,  and  their  works  do 
follow  them '  ?  " 

From  Dr.  Ballou's  point  of  view,  forty-five  years  ago,  the 
following  private  letter  is  of  public  interest,  now  that  Tufts 
College  has,  by  slow  growth,  become  strong,  and  proved  its 
right  to  exist  in  the  suburbs  of  Boston.  But  in  his  day,  and 
for  years  afterwards,  was  not  his  prophecy  fulfilled  ? 

Medford,  August  23,  1851. 

Brother  Sawyer,  —  "Will  you  be  at  the  General  Convention  next 
month?  I  hope  that  you  will  attend,  in  spite  of  all  avocations,  ordi- 
nary impediments,  and  the  expense  of  the  journey.  Besides  the  usual 
motives  for  your  presence  on  the  occasion,  there  is  the  meeting  of 
the  subscribers  to  the  proposed  College.  I  do  not  know  whether 
you  are  a  subscriber,  or  a  donor,  nor  consequent^  whether  you  are 
entitled  to  a  seat  among  them  ;  but  that  makes  little  difference. 
Your  counsel  will  be  needed  and  sought  for,  and  it  will  weigh  much, 
—  far  more  than  that  of  any  other  man  who  is  not  a  rich  donor.  I 
see  by  the  public  notice  that  the  meeting  is  called  for  the  purpose, 
among  other  purposes,  to  fix  on  the, place  for  the  College.  I  have  been 
absent  on  a  journey,  and  therefore  have  not  yet  seen  Brother  Skinner 
or  the  Committee,  to  ask  them  whether  they  mean  to  decide  on  tho 
location  by  a  general  vote  of  the  meeting,  or  to  choose  a  committe 
to  examine  and  determine.  I  have  always  supposed  the  latte. 
method  would  be  adopted  ;  but  do  not  know  what  to  make,  in  that 
case,  of  the  language  of  the  notification. 

The  fact  is,  I  fear  they  will  place  it  on  Walnut  Hill,  in  Medford. 
There  seem  to  me  very  formidable  objections  to  that  site,  notwith- 
standing a  natural  preference  for  my  own  town,  all  other  things  being 


LOCATION  OF  THE   COLLEGE.  271 

equal.  In  addition  to  the  objections  that  arise  from  its  vicinity  to  a 
large  city,  —  making  board  and  other  expenses  dearer,  and  exposing 
the  students  to  an  unhealthy  moral  atmosphere,  —  there  are  the  follow- 
ing, which  stand  paramount  to  all  the  rest  in  my  mind  :  1.  We  crowd 
ourselves  in  too  near  Cambridge,  where  there  is  no  need  of  another 
college  on  merely  literary  grounds,  upon  which  we  must  get  oui- 
charter,  if  we  get  one  at  all ;  and  it  will  be  felt  by  the  community  at 
large  as  an  attempt  at  a  sort  of  rival  institution  to  Harvard.  2.  Wc 
shall  at  least  stand  before  the  public  in  comparison  with  Harvard,  — 
and  what  a  comparison,  especially  for  the  first  years  !  —  with  our  two 
or  three  professors,  of  name  unknown  in  the  literary  and  scientific 
world,  with  our  library  of  perhaps  two  or  three  thousand  volumes  at 
most,  with  but  the  embryo  of  a  philosophical  apparatus,  —  in  contrast 
with  the  oldest,  richest,  best-appointed  university  on  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic,  which  stands  in  plain  sight,  with  its  army  of  professors, 
many  of  them  distinguished  in  the  walks  of  literature,  and  some  of 
them,  as  Agassiz,  Guyot,  of  a  world-wide  reputation,  — to  say  nothing 
of  its  library,  cabinets,  scientific  school,  law  school,  medical  school, 
etc.  AVe  put  ourselves  into  competition  with  all  this ;  and  it  is  an 
incalculable  disadvantage  before  the  world.  A  respectable  begin- 
ning, if  we  were  off  by  ourselves,  will  be  an  abortion  in  such  a  jux- 
taposition. Our  comparative  leanness  will  starve  us.  3.  The  in- 
fluence of  the  neighboring  university  will  work  upon  our  students 
in  college,  in  spite  of  all  we  can  do.  Here  is  a  young  man,  am- 
bitious to  climb  the  heights  of  science,  or  to  distinguish  himself 
in  literature,  as  all  good  scholars  are  ;  and  he  sees  every  day  the 
neighboring  university,  where  are  an  Agassiz,  a  Guyot,  a  Pond, 
not  to  mention  those  of  less  note,  who  are  nevertheless  famous,  — 
can  he  help  longing  for  the  patronage  and  eclat  which  their  instruc- 
tions will  give?  It  will  be  a  sieve  to  sift  all  our  best  and  most 
emulous  scholars  out  from  our  institution.  4.  The  Influence  of  the 
Unitarians,  who  best  know  how  to  exert  an  influence  unseen  and 
unsuspected,  will  be  brought  to  bear  upon  our  students  ;  and  the 
community  will  feel  that  it  is  good  enough  for  us,  seeing  we  would 
put  ourselves  in  the  way  of  it. 


272  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

So  the  matter  appears  to  me.  I  kuow  of  but  one  reason  for 
placing  the  College  in  so  unfortunate  a  position  ;  a  large  sum,  given 
by  Mr.  Tufts,  is  granted  on  condition  that  a  literary  institution  of 
some  kind,  under  the  control  of  Universalists,  be  placed  on  Walnut 
Hill.  But  with  my  views  of  the  case,  it  would  be  better  even  to 
sacrifice  that  donation  than  to  incur  the  disadvantages  which  seem  to 
be  attached  to  that  site.  Besides,  it  might  not  be  necessary  to  sacri- 
fice it ;  perhaps  another  institution,  say  a  theological  school,  might 
occupy  the  spot ;  and  I  could  risk  our  theological  alongside  of  the 
Cambridge  one. 

The  subscribers  were  called  together  in  the   Warren  Street 

Universalist  Church,  Boston,i  of  which  Mr.  Skinner  was  pastor, 

on  Tuesday,  September  16,  1851,  at  ten  o'clock  a.m.,  Benjamin 

B.  Mussey,  Esq.,  in  the  chair,  to  decide  upon  a  location  for  the 

College  and  to  choose  a  Board  of  Trustees.     Rev.  T.  J.  Sawyer, 

for  the  committee  appointed  in  1847,  reported  :  — 

t 
Subscriptions  in  good  faith $61,000 

A  bond  by  a  wealthy  citizen  ^  of  Boston  for  payment  at 

his  death  (and  $1,000  a  year  till  then)  of    ...     .  20,000 

A  deed  of  twenty  acres  of  land  in  Somerville,  Mass.,^ 

valued  at      ." 20,000 

Total $101,000 

Meetings  were  held  morning,  afternoon,  and  evening  in  for- 
mulating plans  for  the  new  College,  and  adjourned  from  day  to 
day,  and  large  numbers  of  the  leading  men  in  the  Universali  t 
denomination  were  present.  But  it  was  novel  business  for  most 
of  them.  Harvard  College  was  often  cited  as  a  pattern.  A 
"  Board   of  Trustees  (or  Overseers)  "  ^  was  finally  nominated 

1  Later  the  Jewish  Synagogue  on  Warrenton  Street. 
°  Mr.  Silvanus  Packard. 

3  Ten  acres  of  which  Mr.  Charles  Tufts  had  given  conditionally  for  the  Walnut  HiU 
Evangelical  Seminai-y.  eleven  years  before.    See  p.  255. 
*  College  Records,  vol.  I,  p.  15. 


LOCATIOX   OF    THE    COLLEGE.  273 

Wednesday  evening,  and  Thursday  morning,  September  18, 
1851,  with  entire  unanimity  the  regular  nominees,  twenty-three 
in  number,  were  elected,  of  whom  nine  (Dr.  Ballou  of  the  num- 
ber) were  clergymen,  and  fourteen  laymen,  —  among  the  latter 
some  of  the  best  known  benefactors  of  the  College,  like  Oliver 
Dean,  m.d.,  of  Franklin,  Mass. ;  Mr.  Silvanus  Packard,^  of  Bos- 
ton ;  and  Mr.  P.  T.  Barnum,  of  Bridgeport,  Conn.  Two  of  the 
trustees  were  residents  of  Maine,  two  of  New  Hampshire,  one 
of  Vermont,  eight  of  Massachusetts,  one  of  Rhode  Island,  one  of 
Connecticut,  five  of  New  York,  two  of  Pennsylvania,  and  one 
of  Ohio. 

At  the  first  (informal)  meeting  of  the  trustees,  held  on  the 
same  day  at  27  Cornhill,  the  following  "  Committee  on  Loca- 
tion "  was  appointed :  H.  Ballou,  2d,  O.  A.  Skinner,  L.  C. 
Browne,  B.  B.  Mussey,  and  Eli  Ballou  ;  and  they  were  instructed 
"to  notify  the  friends  in  Brattleboro,  Vt.,  Worcester,  Mass., 
and  Springfield,  Mass.,  that  the  trustees  are  ready  to  receive 
proposals  for  the  location  of  the  college,"  — to  be  made  "  before 
the  nineteenth  of  November,  1851,"  when  the  next  meeting 
was  to  be  held. 

The  following  "Committee  on  By-Laws  "  was  also  appointed: 
I.  Washburn,  Jr.,  C.  Gardner,  T.  J.  Greenwood,  and  H. 
Ballou,  2d. 

At  the  first  formal  meeting  of  the  trustees  at  27  Cornhill, 
Boston,  November  19,  1851,  the  proceedings  of  the  informal 
meeting  of  September  18  were  confirmed.  Dr.  Ballou,  for  the 
Committee  on  Location,  reported  :  "  Brattleboro,  Vt.,  has  offered 
to  give  $3,766  if  the  trustees  will  locate  the  College  in  that  place. 
A  very  beautiful  site  can  be  obtained  at  about  one  hundred  dol- 
lars per  acre,  and  thus  twenty  acres  can  be  obtained  for  two  tliou- 

iMr.  Packard  was  born  April  6,  1789,  at  North  Briilgevvater,  Mass.;  he  accumulated 
his  fortune  in  Boston,  and  died  April  23, 1866.  See  sketch  of  Silvanus  Packard  in  Ladies' 
Repository,  August,  1866. 


274  HOSEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

sand  dollars.  This  would  leave  $1,766.  The  value  of  the  land 
would  be  greatly  enhanced  by  locating  the  College  upon  it." 

"  Some  additions  have  been  made  to  the  offer  in  favor  of 
Somerville.  Bonds  securing  three  acres  of  land  have  been  ob- 
tained, and  subscriptions  to  the  amount  of  over  one  thousand 
dollars.  There  are  responsible  persons  who  stand  ready  to  take 
ten  acres  of  the  laud  given  by  Mr.  Tufts  at  two  thousand  dollars 
per  acre,  providing  a  square  is  laid  out  of  about  ten  acres,  in 
the  centre  of  the  whole  lot,  and  is  kept  for  a  college  common. 
Your  committee  deem  it  perfectly  safe  to  say,  that  the  offer  from 
Somerville,  if  accepted,  will  be  worth  twenty-four  thousand 
dollars  besides  land  for  the  College  buildings. 

"  Within  a  few  days  your  committee  have  had  their  attention 
called  to  a  location  in  Franklin,  Mass.  A  perfectly  responsible 
gentleman  ^  offers  twenty  acres  of  land  handsomely  situated  in 
one  of  the  most  healthy  and  pleasant  towns  in  the  State,^ 
and  in  addition  thereto,  in  money  the  sum  of  twenty  thousand 
dollars. 

"  All  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

«  (Signed)  H.  Ballon,  2d,  L.  C.  Browne,  Eli  Ballon,  B.  B. 
Mussey,  and  O.  A.  Skinner."  ^ 

The  report  was  accepted,  and  it  was 

••'Voted,  To  visit  Walnut  Hill,  the  site  given  by  Mr.  Charles  Tufts." 

Returning  from  Somerville,  "  considerable  time  was  spent  in 
informal  conversation  upon  the  location  of  the  College.  It  was 
agreed  that  the  choice  lay  between  Walnut  Hill,  in  Somerville 
and  Medford,  and  Franklin.  As  Mr.  Tufts  would  not  give  his 
property  for  Franklin,  and  as  it  was  understood  that  Dr.  Dean, 
who  had  made  the  offer  for  Franklin,  would  ultimately  do  about 
the  same  for  the  College  in  one  place  as  the  other,  it  seemed  to 

1  Oliver  Dean,  m.d.    See  sketch  of  Dr.  Oliver  Dean  in  Ladies'  Repository,  July,  1868. 
-  The  present  site  of  Dcau  Academy. 
3  College  Records,  vol.  I,  p.  21. 


SILVANUS  PACKARD. 


LOCATION  OF  THE   COLLEGE.  275 

be  the  opinion  that  Wahiut   Hill  should   be  selected.     After 
this  free  intercourse  of  opinion  it  was  unanimously 

"(1)  Voted^  That  the  location  of  the  college  be  referred  to  a  special 
committee,  with  power  to  locate  either  in  Franklin  or  on  Waluut  Hill. 

"(2)  Voted,  That  said  committee  consist  of  Oliver  Dean,  S.  Pack- 
ard, B.  B.  Mussey,  H.  Ballon,  2d,  I.  Washburn,  Jr.,  Otis  A.  Skinner. 

"(3)  Voted,  That  said  committee  be  instructed  to  obtain  a  char- 
ter as  early  as  possible  at  the  next  session  of  the  Legislature." 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Committee  on  Location,  January  8, 1852, 
at  38  Cornhill,  Boston,  "  Dr.  H.  Ballou,  2d,  gave  a  report  of  his 
visit  to  Franklin,  in  company  with  Messrs.  O.  Dean  and  O.  A. 
Skinner.  He  reported  that  the  site  in  Franklin  was  in  his 
opinion  pleasant,  and  in  all  respects  good.  He  gave  his  reasons 
at  considerable  length  for  preferring  Franklin  to  Walnut  Hill.^ 
Mr.  Skinner  concurred  with  Dr.  Ballou  with  regard  to  the 
beauty  and  pleasantness  of  the  location,  but  was  decided  in  his 
preference  for  Walnut  Hill. 

After  considerable  discussion,  on  motion  of  S.  Packard,  — 

''Voted,  That  the  college  be  located  on  Walnut  Hill." 2 

In  pursuance  of  legal  notice  in  the  Lowell  Tri-weekly  Ameiv 
ican,  the  first  meeting  of  the  proprietors  of  Tufts  College  was 
holden  on  Thursday,  May  27,  1852,  at  nine  o'clock  a.m.,  in  the 
vestry  of  the  Universalist  Society  in  Charlestown,  where  it  was 

'•'•Voted,  To  accept  the  Act  of  Incorporation  entitled  '  An  Act  to 
Incorporate  the  Trustees  of  the  Tufts  College,' "  ^  which  received  the 
Governor's  signature  April  21,  1852;  also,  "  The  Act  in  Addition  " 
thereto,  so  as  to  apply  whether  the  College  were  located  in  Somer- 
ville  or  in  Medford. 

1  See  letters  to  Dr.  T.  J.  Sawyer,  pp.  267,  268,  and  270-272. 

2  This  decision,  it  appears,  was  due  to  the  belief  of  some  that  without  the  donation  of 
land  by  Mr.  Tufts,  the  conditional  subscriptions  secured  by  Mr.  Skinner  would  not  be 
binding,  ami  the  undertaking  would  fail. 

3  See  College  Records,  vol.  I,  p.  28,  also  copy  in  College  Catalogues. 


276  HOSE  A  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  trustees,  July  21,  1852,  B.  B.  Mussey, 
O.  A.  Skmner,  and  Timothy  Cotting  were  appointed  a  commit- 
tee "  to  devise  a  plan  for  college  buildings."     It  was  also 

''Voted,  That  Rev.  H.  Ballou,  2d,  Rev.  T.  J.  Sawyer,  Rev.  O.  A. 
Skinner,  Rev.  L.  R.  Paige,  be  a  committee  to  report,  at  the  next 
regular  meeting  of  the  Board,  the  outlines  of  a  system  of  instruction 
for  the  College."  For  President  of  the  College,  "  Rev.  T.  J.  Sawyer, 
of  Clinton,  N.  Y.,  was  unanimously  chosen." 

At  the  meeting  of  the  trustees,  September  21,  1852,  Dr. 
Ballou  was  chosen  moderator,  his  Committee  on  By-Laws  sub- 
mitted a  partial  report,^  which  was  accepted,  and  a  "  Building 
Committee,"  consisting  of  B.  B.  Mussey,  Timothy  Cotting,  Otis 
A.  Skinner,  Thomas  Whittemore,  and  Silvanus  Packard,  were 
instructed  "  to  proceed  immediately  to  erect  a  building  for  the 
use  of  the  College,^  on  the  land  donated  by  Charles  Tufts,"  at 
an  expense  "  not  exceeding  $20,000,"  the  foundation,  at  least, 
to  be  in  before  winter.  But  the  sum  was  found  to  be 
inadequate,  so  that  on  May  3,  1853,  they  were  authorized  to 
expend  not  exceeding  $50,000  in  preparing  the  college  grounds, 
and  erecting  boarding  houses  and  other  buildings,  and  Otis  A. 
Skinner  was  engaged  to  superintend  the  work. 

Meanwhile  Dr.  Ballou  wrote,  March  11,  1853,  to  his  brother 
Levi :  — 

"What  little  spirit  has  been  created  in  favor  of  the  enterprise 
will,  I  fear,  evaporate  in  this  long  delay,  and  we  shall  by  and  by 
find  trouble,  where  with  proper  alacrity,  everything  would  have  gone 
on  easily.  I  have  given  up  the  hope  that  I  formerly  had  of  doing  any- 
thing myself  in  the  college  ;  if  I  live  to  see  it  in  operation,  I  shall 
be  too  old  to  begin  a  new  course  of  life,  such  as  would  be  required 
in  a  new  institution  of  the  kind.  These,  however,  are  thoughts  that 
I  keep  to  myself ;  and  I  do  not  allow  myself  to  say  anything  abroad 

1  See  College  Records,  vol.  I,  p.  38. 

2  Now  Ballou  Hall.    See  College  Records,  vol.  I,  p.  38. 


PRESIDENCY   OF   THE    COLLEGE.  277 

of  the  tardiness  with  which  the  committee  manage  the  business. 
The  public  need  to  be  kept  in  expectation  of  due  progress  to  come, 
instead  of  being  disheartened  by  the  delay." 

Another  obstacle  now  presented  itself;  after  visiting  Rev. 
T.  J.  Sawyer  twice,  "  once  at  Clinton,  N.  Y.,  and  once  at  New 
York  City,"  and "  after  a  free  conversation  upon  the  subject, 
he  had  signified  liis  willingness  to  accept  the  appointment  [of 
president]  ^  if  he  can  receive  a  salary  of  12,500  per  annum."  ^ 

On  May  24,  1853,  the  trustees  '•'•  voted.  That  it  is  not  in  the 
power  of  this  Board  to  comply  with  the  condition  on  which 
Rev.  T.  J.  Sawyer  has  expressed  a  willingness  to  accept  the 
office  of  president,  and  therefore  that  the  office  of  President  of 
the  College  is  vacant." 

Two  days  later.  May  26,  a  committee,  appointed  May  24, 
consisting  of  Rev,  Messrs.  Thomas  Whittemore,  C.  Gardner, 
T.  J.  Greenwood,  and  Otis  A.  Skinner,  recommended  "  that 
Rev.  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  d.d.,  be  appointed  President  of  Tufts 
College,"  and  he  was  thereupon  "  unanimously  elected."  ^  He 
was  also  chairman  of  a  "Committee  on  Instruction,"  of  six 
members,  "  to  arrange  the  Course  of  Studies  for  the  College,  and 
also  report  what  Professorships  are  necessary  and  what  persons 
will  be  suitable  to  fill  those  Professorships." 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  July  12,  1853,  it 
was  reported  that  "•  Dr.  Ballou  was  willing  to  accept  the  office, 
without  any  definite  arrangement  with  regard  to  the  salary  he 
should  receive  at  the  opening  of  the  Institution,  providing  that 
till  that  time  the  Trustees  would  make  his  salary  equal  to 
what  he  has  been  receiving  from  his  Parish.  He  had  been 
receiving  eight  hundred  dollars  per  year,  and  as,  till  his  services 
on  the  Sabbath  should  be  required  in  the  College,  he  would  find 
opportunities  to  preach  most  of  the  Sabbaths,  it  was  thought 

1  Oliver  Dean,  m.d.,  was  "  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees." 

2  College  Records,  vol  I,  pp.  41,  42.  ^  Ibid.,  vol.  I,  p.  45. 


278  HO  SEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

that  the  expense  to  the  College  would  not  exceed  six  hundred 
dollars  per  year.  It  was  also  stated  that  he  wished  to  visit  the 
principal  colleges  of  New  England,  in  order  that  he  might 
combine  in  the  system  of  Instruction  and  Government  of  Tufts 
College  as  many  of  the  excellences  of  the  different  colleges 
as  possible."  It  was  therefore,  "  voted,  That  Dr.  Ballou  be  paid 
at  the  rate  of  eight  hundred  dollars  per  year,  ft-om  the  time  he 
commences  his  labors  in  preparing  for  his  duties  as  President." 

A  week  later  he  performed  his  first  official  duty. 

"  The  corner  stone  of  Tufts  College  was  laid,  by  appropriate 
public  services,  July  19,  1853.^  The  day  was  pleasant,  and  the 
attendance  very  large,  filling  the  mammoth  tent,"  —  so  reads  the 
College  record. 

Dr.  Ballou  laid  the  corner  stone,^  and  Rev.  Messrs.  Thomas 
Whittemore,  T.  J.  Greenwood,  A.  A.  Miner,  Henry  Bacon,  and 
W.  H.  Ryder  took  part  in  the  exercises,  and  Mrs.  N.  T.  Monroe 
and  Mrs.  Mary  T.  Goddard^  wrote  hymns  for  the  occasion 
which  were  sung.  The  same  day  Dr.  Ballou  wrote  to  his 
brother  Levi,  who  was  always  the  confidant  of  his  joys  and 
his  sorrows  :  — 

"  I  have  a  mind  to  come  up  to  Orange  on  the  Monday  of  Com- 
mencement week  at  Amherst.  ...  I  suppose  you  have  heard  that 
the  Trustees  of  Tufts  College  have  ventured  the  hazardous  game  of 
appointing  me  presklent.     You  will  be  still  more  surprised  to  learn 

1  College  Records,  vol.  I,  p.  49;  not  July  23,  as  stated  in  the  "  History  of  Tufts  College, 
published  by  the  Class  of  1897,"  p.  23.  It  was  "Tuesday  forenoon,"  July  19,  and  the 
Boston  Chronicle  of  that  day  adds,  it  was  cool  under  Yale's  tent,  "  although  in  the  valley 
below  the  thermometer  indicated  90  degrees." 

2  •'  The  Doctor  is  said  to  have  been  very  particular,"  says  the  "  History  of  Tufts  College," 
p.  23,  "  that  the  fine  block  of  Connecticut  sandstone  should  be  laid  absolutely  fair  and 
true,  — a  fact  which  is  symbolic  of  the  care  with  which  he  attended  to  each  minutest 
detail  of  his  work  in  connection  with  the  college  and  elsewhere." 

3  Mrs.  Goddard  writes  to  the  author,  July  31, 1S96  :  "  I  hardly  know  whether  to  be  glad 
or  sorrj'  that  I  cannot  grant  your  request  with  regard  to  that  hymn,  now  safely  housed 
under  the  corner  stone  of  Ballou  Hall  at  Tufts!  But  in  those  days  so  long  ago,  when,  as 
there  were  not  so  many  rhymers  as  in  these  times,  1  wrote  in  my  poor  way  hymns  for 
Installations,  dedications,  and  Sabbathschool  wants,  I  never  thought  of  keeping  them  on 
hand—  so  I  have  no  clew  now  to  that  hymn  you  inquire  for." 


OPEMNG    OF   THE    COLLEGE.  279 

that  I  think  of  accepting  the  office,  —  not  on  the  ground  of  being  fit 
for  it,  which  the  Lord  knows  I  am  not,  but  because  I  do  not  know 
who  they  can  get  that  is  fit  for  it,  since  Brother  Sawyer  lias  disap- 
pointed us.  But  I  have  asked  of  the  Trustees  a  year  for  prepara- 
tion, which  they  have  granted.  .  .  .  You  will  think  me  very  pre- 
sumptuous in  undertaking  the  office  of  President,  and  I  perfectly 
agree  with  you  therein.  But  I  shut  my  eyes  to  the  consequences, 
and  rush  forward." 

Not  content  to  model  Tufts  blindly  after  the  plan  of  Harvard 
College,  of  which  after  ten  years'  service  as  Overseer  he  had 
perfect  knowledge,  he  visited  all  of  the  New  England  colleges, 
and  many  of  the  endowed  college-fitting  schools. 

After  his  return  from  Europe,  Dr.  Ballou  wrote  again  from 
Medford,  November  18,  1854,  to  Rev.  Levi  Ballou  :  — 

Dear  Brother,  —  Yours  of  the  thirteenth  inst.  has  just  come  to 
hand.  .  .  .  You  judge  right  concerning  our  College  matters.  "We 
have  only  seven  students  ;  but  in  this  I  am  not  at  all  disappointed, 
though  others  are.  I  put  it  down,  more  than  a  year  ago,  that  it  would 
not  be  surprising  if  we  opened  with  no  more  than  half  a  dozen  ;  nor, 
on  the  other  hand,  if  we  had  even  twenty  to  begin  with.  I  should  have 
been  disappointed  if  we  had  less  than  half  a  dozen,  and  equally  so 
if  we  had  more  than  twenty,  —  I  mean,  at  the  regular  opening  of  the 
College.  No  such  opening,  however,  has  yet  taken  place.  I  under- 
stand that  the  Trustees  declined  to  open  last  September,  inasmuch 
as  they  had  not  erected  a  boarding  house,  nor  provided  any  conven- 
iences. Brother  Skinner  and  Mr.  Mussey,  however,  thought  that 
something  must  be  done  to  meet  public  expectation,  — that  it  would 
not  do  to  delay  any  longer,  —  and  therefore  took  on  themselves  the 
responsibility  of  fiudiug  means  to  defray  the  expenses  for  the  cur- 
rent year.  Accordingly,  when  I  got  home  from  Europe,  the  last  of 
September,  I  found  the  College  in  blast ;  Mr.  Drew  established  as 
resident  professor,  Mr.  Marshall  and  Mr.  Tweed  in  attendance,  — 
the  former  once  a  day,  the  latter  once  a  week, — and  the  course 
of  instruction  going  on  regularly.     I  went  in,  the  Monday  after  the 


280  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

Saturday  on  which  I  arrived,  and  have  been  there  every  week  day 
since,  —  the  most  of  the  time  twice  a  day,  which  gives  me  as  much 
walking,  especially  in  bad  weather,  as  I  wish  for,  and  sometimes 
a  little  more.  I  have  full  reason  to  be  perfectly  satisfied  with  the 
plan  of  instruction,  and  with  the  tlioroughness  and  promptness  of 
the  Professors.  Our  principle  is  to  ivork,  work,  and  to  let  the  work 
speak  for  itself  before  the  world.  With  only  the  germ  of  a  library, 
and  with  no  philosophical  apparatus,  I  am  still  persuaded  that  we 
are  making  our  students  more  thorough  scholars  than  those  of  other 
colleges  which  I  have  visited.  The  smallness  of  our  classes  gives 
us  a  peculiarly  favorable  oppoi'tunity  for  effecting  this  result. 

We  have  received  donations  of  books  from  booksellers  in  Boston, 
and  from  one  in  New  York,  to  the  amount  of  six  or  seven  hundred 
dollars,  though  we  have  not  yet  got  all  their  donations  into  the 
Library.  Other  donations  of  the  kind  I  think  we  may  calculate  upon, 
that  will  bring  the  amount  up  to  somewhere  about  a  thousand  dollars. 

Brother  Skinner  is  building  me  a  house  on  the  grounds,  which  was 
to  have  been  ready  by  the  beginning  of  winter,  but  which  grows  so 
slowly  towards  completion  that  I  fear  it  will  not  be  ready  till  next 
spring.  He  begged  the  funds  for  the  purpose,  on  condition  that  the 
house  should  be  secured  to  me  during  my  lifetime  and  that  of  Mrs. 
Ballou,  and  then  revert  to  the  College. 

It  was  after  long  hesitation,  following  a  period  of  absolute  refusal, 
that  I  accepted  the  Presidency  of  the  College.  I  was  fully  aware 
that  it  might  involve  me  in  pecuniary  ruin,  and  in  all  the  disparage- 
ment of  reputation  which  would  attend  an  unsuccessful  course  of  the 
College  at  the  beginning.  Could  they  have  found  any  other  proper 
person  who  was  willing  to  accept  the  place,  no  earthly  consideration 
could  have  moved  me  to  put  myself  and  family  in  the  hazard  at  my 
period  of  life,  —  as  I  cannot  hope  to  live  long  enough  to  see  the 
Institution  outgrown  all  the  perplexities,  privations,  and  difficulties 
of  its  commencement,  and  in  unembarrassed  operation.  But  the 
question  seemed  to  be  whether  there  should  be  a  breakdown  at  once, 
for  want  of  a  President.  Brother  Sawyer  refused,  except  upon 
terms  that  would  make  him  secure.     For  this  he  has  been  blamed  by 


..•-«'"' -.'••-V<f!l;ln*^... 


ij^pfls    Wwf  J 


^^r 


[From  a  Lithograph  Portrait,  ix  1854,  by  Cyrus  and  Dariu.s  Corb.] 


Pi^iV  OF  INSTRUCTION.  281 

some  ;  but  I  know  not  on  what  reason.  He  had  certainly  a  right  to 
decline  for  prudential  reasons,  and  to  make  his  own  conditions  of 
acceptance.  This  he  did  fairly  and  honorably.  And  I  should  have 
done  the  same,  if  I  had  suffered  prudential  considerations  to  come 
into  the  case.  I  sometimes  tremble  for  my  family,  when  I  look  at 
the  uncei'tain  prospect  ahead  —  uncertain,  not  with  respect  to  making 
the  College  all  that  we  wish  for,  if  we  be  sustained,  and  furnished 
with  the  pecuniary  means  ;  but  uncertain  on  account  of  the  petty 
jealousies  and  ambition  of  brethren,  and  the  unformed  state  of  the 
judgment  and  tastes  of  our  denomination  at  large.  However,  I  am 
in  for  it,  and  if  I  come  out  ground  into  powder,  I  hope  it  will  bring 
the  price  of  flour  down.^ 

On  May  29,  1855,2  the  College  Records  report :  "  Dr.  Ballou 
submitted  the  printed  plan  of  instruction  which  had  been  pre- 
pared under  his  directions."^  Says  the  College  Catalogue: 
"  The  first  President  of  the  College,  the  Rev.  Hosea  Ballou,  2d, 
D.D.,  was  likewise  Professor  of  History  and  of  Intellectual 
Philosophy,  and  gave  instruction  in  history  remarkable  alike  for 
its  quantity  and  quality,  at  a  time  when  the  study  was  hardly 
]  ecognized  in  American  colleges.  Four  hours  a  week  for  three 
years  was  the  time  assigned  to  this  subject  in  the  curriculum  of 
Tufts  College,  until  the  death  of  President  Ballou,  in  1861, 
when,  there  being  no  one  to  take  up  the  work,  it  dropped  from 
the  course." 

The  « History  of  Tufts  College,"  pubHshed  by  the  Class  of 
1897,  adds,  that,  "  Although  for  eight  years  during  the  adminis- 
tration of  Dr.  Miner  the  scholarly  Richard  Frothingham  offered 
a  course  of  historical  lectures,  more  than  thirty  years  were 
to  elapse  before  the  institution  of  a  regular  department  of 
history." 4 

In  other  respects  the  four  years'  course  of  study  did  not  differ 

1  For  the  last  part  of  this  letter  see  pp.  176-188. 

2  On  May  29, 1855,  also  Rev.  A.  A.  Miner  was  first  elected  a  Trustee  of  Tufts  College. 

3  See  Course  of  Study  in  students'  "  History  of  Tufts  College,"  pp.  354-357.      ^  Page  30. 


282  HOSEA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

materially  from  the  course  leading  to  the  degree  Bachelor  of 
Arts  at  other  New  England  colleges  at  that  time  ;  in  Latin, 
Greek,  Mathematics,  Rhetoric,  Moral  Science,  Revealed  Re- 
ligion, Physiology,  Physics,  French,  German,  Italian,  Spanish, 
Political  Economy,  Intellectual  Philosophy,  and  History,  the 
faithful  student  would  get  a  good  preparation  for  original,  con- 
structive work. 

"  On  the  twenty-second  of  August,  1855,"  says  the  Record,^ 
"the  President,  Rev.  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  d.d.,  was  inaugurated, 
and  the  Professors  were  inducted  into  office."  In  concluding 
his  Inaugural  Address,^  President  Ballou  said  :  — 

"  On  such  an  occasion  as  the  present,  it  may  be  expected  that 
something  will  be  said  respecting  the  internal  economy  of  this  Col- 
lege,—  the  methods  of  instruction  that  will  be  pursued  here,  and 
the  objects  that  will  be  aimed  at.  But,  in  these  respects,  there  is 
nothing  peculiar  to  be  noted ;  and  the  topic  at  large  would  opeu 
so  wide  a  field  that  it  is  necessary  to  decline  entering  upon  it  at 
this  late  hour.  I  will  only  mention  three  things,  by  way  simply  of 
specificatiou  :  — 

'  '•  First ;  we  are  seusible  that  one  of  the  prime  requisites  to  excel- 
lence in  any  branch  of  learning  to  which  we  shall  attend,  is  thorough- 
ness ;  thoroughness  in  the  elements,  thoroughness  in  every  successive 
stage,  as  far  as  the  study  shall  be  carried.  And  this,  not  only  for 
the  sake  of  sound  scholarship  as  distinguished  from  smattering,  but 
for  the  sake  also  of  the  mental  habits  in  general,  that  are  to  be 
formed  by  the  discipline.  We  cannot  lay  too  great  a  stress  on  this 
point.  "Where  '  thoroughness  '  ceases  to  be  practicable,  let  the  study 
be  dropped. 

' '  Secondly  ;  we  are  persuaded  that  all  scholastic  instruction  ought 
to  be  conducted  with  a  reverent  eye  to  the  methods  which  our  Creator 
has  instituted,  in  Nature  and  Providence,  for  the  education  of  our 

I  Vol.  I,  p.  58.    On  Wednesday,  says  the  program  before  me. 

^  The  Inaugural  Address  may  be  read  in  extenso  in  the  Quarterly  for  October,  1855, 
pp.  329-344. 


FLAX  OF  INSTRUCTION.  283 

race.  For,  the  whole  business  of  life  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave 
may  be  expressed  iu  one  word,  —  Education.  It  Ijegins  with  the  first 
breath ;  it  is  suspended  only  with  the  access  of  utter  insensibility. 
This  world,  if  we  consider  it  attentively,  is  found  to  be  but  a  vast 
seminary,  with  infinite  apparatus  of  natural  objects  above  and  below, 
—  with  unnumbered  problems  of  doubt  to  be  solved,  — with  difficul- 
ties on  the  one  hand,  facilities  on  the  other,  dangers,  calamities, 
successes,  joys,  and  sorrows,  as  our  Schoolmasters  ;  and  with  thou- 
sand-fold influences  that  try  us  in  every  possible  direction,  to  draw 
forth  our  capabilities,  and  to  form  us  into  a  self-governed  organism 
of  regulated  forces.  And  the  processes  of  a  more  artificial  kind, 
which  we  follow  out  in  Schools,  should  evidently  be  but  the  sequel  to 
the  natural  course.  The  principles  on  which  they  are  conducted 
should  be  the  same  ;  and  the  results  obtained  should  be  rectified  from 
their  subtle  aberrations,  by  constantly  comparing  them  with  the  facts 
of  the  existing  world,  and  with  the  judgments  of  common  sense. 
In  this  way,  we  save  the  scholar  from  the  flightiness  and  extrava- 
gances to  which  the  unguided  speculation  of  our  age  is  so  prone. 

"Thirdly,  Religious  Influences.  There  does  not  seem  to  be  any 
room  for  doubt,  whether  these  should  pervade  a  College,  and  indeed 
all  places  of  Education.  If  we  have  a  Father  in  heaven,  on  whom 
we  are  dependent,  it  is  plain  that  our  natural  or  normal  sphere  is  one 
of  filial  subordination  to  him,  —  like  that  of  children  in  a  family. 
And  our  characters,  intellectual  as  well  as  moral,  cannot  be  properly 
formed,  but  under  the  habitual  sense  of  the  sacred  relation  in  which 
we  exist.  If  we  are  not  self-existent,  if  we  are  created  beings,  liv- 
ing under  the  dominion  of  a  Supreme  Lawgiver  and  Judge,  whose 
authority  presses  upon  us,  and  shuts  us  in  on  every  side,  there  can- 
not be,  in  the  nature  of  thiugs,  any  healthful  discipline,  or  any 
development  fitted  to  our  state,  without  the  moral  consciousness  of 
this  pressure  ;  just  as  the  pressure  of  the  surrounding  atmosphere  is 
necessary  to  our  physical  well-being.  It  is  what  we  must  have  iu 
both  cases.  And  the  absurdity — I  mean  the  natural  absurdity  — 
of  thinking  to  succeed  by  placing  us  under  an  exhausted  receiver  as  it 
were,  is  as  gross  in  the  one  case  as  in  the  other.     To  the  full  extent 


284  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2cl,  D.D. 

that  the  student  values  even  a  well-developed  intellect,  let  him  cherish 
a  sense  of  that  Omnipresence  '  in  whom  he  lives,  moves,  and  has  his 
being.'  Above  all  things,  as  he  values  the  moral  integrity  of  his 
character,  let  him  see  to  it  that  he  does  not  '  live  without  God  in  the 
world.'  And  let  all  who  take  the  responsible  office  of  instructors 
remember  how  much  depends  on  their  example  and  personal  influence 
in  this  respect. 

"And  now,  at  the  close  of  these  public  solemnities,  in  the  fear 
and  love  of  God,  we  consecrate  this  New  College  to  his  glorious 
service,  in  the  educating  and  harmonious  unfolding  of  the  noblest 
powers  he  has  bestowed  upon  his  creatures.  We  humbly  look  to 
him  for  his  acceptance  of  this  College,  and  for  his  blessing  upon 
it  to  these  ends.  We  consecrate  it  to  the  work  of  instruction  in 
sound  learning  and  science,  under  the  influence  of  Christian  princi- 
ples. We  dedicate  it  and  its  appurtenances  to  the  service  of  you, 
Young  Gentlemen,  who  have  entered  here  to  begin  your  collegiate 
course,  with  the  beginning  of  the  Institution  itself,  —  including  with 
you  your  successors  in  all  time  to  come.  We  have  honored  it  with 
the  name  of  its  noble  and  generous  Founder,  whom  we  have  the 
happiness  to  see  among  us  to-day,  but  who  is  shut  out  from  the  sound 
of  our  voices.  May  it  bear  his  memory  down,  with  increasing  re- 
spect, to  the  remotest  ages ;  and  be  his  conspicuous  monument, 
when  these  heights,  now  bare,  shall  realize  the  character  of  Academic 
Shades.  We  would  gladly  inscribe  also,  on  some  of  its  Depart- 
ments, the  name  of  its  principal  Contributor;^  and,  should  he  con- 
tinue to  decline  the  publicity  as  yet,  we  leave  it  in  charge  to  our  suc- 
cessors, to  do  justice  to  a  liberality  so  munificent,  and  to  a  prompt 
attendance  so  untiring.  And  finally,  we  dedicate  it  as  a  lasting 
memorial  of  its  agent,  who  has  labored  for  so  many  years  in  its 
behalf ;  and  as  a  perpetual  remembrancer  of  all  its  Benefactors,  far 
and  near." 

But  in  the  early  days  of  Tufts  College,  pecuniary  trouble  was 
the  chief  ground  of  anxiety  to  President  Ballou,  as  it  was  of 
President  Henry  Dunster  in  1643,  —  the  year  that  Comfort  Starr 

1  Silvanus  Packard. 


FINANCES   OF  THE   COLLEGE.  285 

entered  Harvard  College.^  Everywhere  Dr.  Ballou  insisted  that 
expenses  must  not  exceed  income.  But  Tufts  College  was  not 
self-supporting,  even  with  the  aid  of  the  Tufts  College  Educa- 
tional Association,  of  which  James  O.  Curtis,  of  Medford,  was 
Treasurer.  When,  May  27,  1856,  Thomas  A.  Goddard  was 
elected  Trustee  and  Treasurer,  to  succeed  B.  B.  Mussey  as 
Treasurer,  happily  the  tide  seemed  to  turn  ;  May  26,  1857,  with 
a  total  indebtedness  of  110,117,  receipts  for  the  year  were 
tS9,366.97,  and  expenses  $8,961.76,  leaving  a  balance  on  hand  of 
$405.21.  Then  came  the  panic  of  '57  and  "  hard  times."  May 
25, 1858,  there  was  a  deficit  of  $3,025.43  for  the  year,  and  Mr. 
Goddard  estimated  the  deficiency  for  the  next  year  at  $2,640. 
"  How  shall  this  be  provided  for  ?  "  he  asked.  "  We  may  get 
something  from  the  State ;  perhaps  we  shall.  .  .  .  We  ought 
not,  however,  to  lean  upon  the  State.  Tufts  College  ought  to 
be  supported  by  the  Universalist  public.  It  is  worthy  of  that 
support."  And  he  adds,  it  "  needs  cherishing  in  its  youth." 
On  May  24,  1859,  it  was  reported  an  appropriation  would  be 
made  by  the  State  of  "  Fifty  Thousand  Dollars,  to  be  paid  out 
of  the  proceeds  of  the  Back  Bay  Lands,  upon  condition  that  a 
similar  sum  should  be  raised  by  individual  subscriptions."  A 
year  later  $48,725  in  subscriptions  were  reported,  of  which  Dr. 
Oliver  Dean  alone  gave  $10,000,  and  the  full  $50,000  was 
shortly  secured.  Meanwhile  Charles  Tufts  and  Mrs.  Tufts,  on 
April  28,  1856,  deeded  "  forty-seven  acres  adjoining  that  previ- 
ously given  "  to  the  College,  and  we  should  mention  here  ten 
acres  at  Medford  Hillside,  given  by  a  member  of  Dr.  Ballou's 
Medford  Society,  Timothy  Cotting.  But  what  the  College 
needed  was  present  income.  Even  students'  bills  were  $600  to 
$700  in  arrears.  On  May  29,  1860,  Mr.  Goddard  reported  an 
actual  deficiency  for  the  year  of  $3,051.98,  and  May  28,  1861, 
of  $3,637.40.     Colonel  Wade,  of  Woburn,  made  a  bequest  in 

iSee  MS.  letter  from  Dunster,  vol.  240,  Massachusetts  Archives. 


286  HOSE  A  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

P 
1868  of  $40,000  to  the  College,  and  on  March  29,  1861,  "  Dr. 

William  J.  Walker  [of  Charlestown]  signified  to  the  Executive 
Committee,"  says  the  record  of  May  28,  "  his  intention  of 
placing  in  the  hands  of  the  Trustees  certain  houses  and  lands  in 
the  city  of  Boston,  for  the  benefit  of  Amherst,  Williams,  and 
Tufts  Colleges."  But  the  Wade  and  Walker  bequests  were 
not  immediately  available  ;  friends  of  the  College  felt  the 
"  depression  of  business,"  and  the  "•  strictest  economy"  was  nec- 
essary. Meanwhile  Thomas  A.  Goddard,  the  Treasurer,  met  the 
needs  of  the  College,  with  most  praiseworthy  generosity;  his 
gifts,  "  though  unobtrusive,  were  constant,"  and  his  benefac- 
tions have  been  continued  by  his  widow.  Honor  is  due  to 
Albert  Metcalf,  a  recent  benefactor,  and  to  others ;  but  in  its 
later  financial  prosperity,  do  we  appreciate  how  many  of  the 
large  benefactors  of  Tufts  College  were  Dr.  Ballou's  associates 
and  were  stimulated  by  him  to  ma,ke  it  their  beneficiary? 
Charles  Tufts  gave  one  hundred  acres  of  land,  Timothy  Cot- 
ting  gave  twenty  acres,  Silvanus  Packard  gave  more  than 
1300,000,  and  Dr.  WiUiam  J.  Walker's  gifts  and  bequests 
amount  to  nearly  $300,000  ;  Colonel  Wade's  bequest  amounts 
to  150,000 ;  Dr.  Oliver  Dean  gave  the  College  $90,000,  and 
Phineas  T.  Barnum,^  also  a  member  of  the  first  Board  of  Trus- 
tees, gave  the  College  $95,000  ;  and  Goddard  Chapel  and  God- 
dard Gymnasium  testify  to  the  devotion  to  the  College  of 
Thomas  A.  Goddard  and  Mary  T.  Goddard  from  the  day  the 
corner  stone  was  laid.  By  their  example  may  his  successors  in 
the  presidential  office  succeed  as  well  in  stimulating  men  of 
wealth,  present  and  to  come,  to  generous  deeds.^ 

At  the  outset,  Dr.  Ballon  directed  his  energies  to  the  collec- 
tion of  a  College  Library. 

'The  features  of  the  great  showman  are  familiar  to  all.  In  the  autur-n  of  1889  it  hap- 
pened that  he  was  a  fellow-passenger  v.-ith  me  from  New  York  to  Liverpool.  No  one  could 
meet  Mr.  Barnumday  after  day,  as  I  did,  without  discovering  in  liim  the  most  genial  of  men. 

-The  property  of  Tufts  College  now  amounts  to  $1,600,000  in  value. 


THE   COLLEGE  LIBRARY.  287 

January  20,  1857,  he  wrote  to  the  Rev.  Levi  Ballou :  — 

*'  We  have  a  Ubrary  collected  by  donations,  amounting,  I  am  con- 
fident, to  more  than  three  thousand  volumes,  without  purchasing 
even  a  single  book.  King  made  us  a  donation  last  fall  of  a  German 
Encyclopedia,  already  numbering  one  hundred  and  sixteen  quarto 
volumes  and  more  yet  to  come.  Mr.  Field,  one  of  my  old  Stafford 
parishioners,  gave  us  his  copy  of  the  Edinburgh  Encyclopedia  in 
thirt3'-six  quarto  volumes.  King's  gift  is  the  most  valuable  of  any 
that  we  have  received.  I  am  begging  books  of  several  of  our 
ministers,  some  of  whom  flinch  a  good  deal  under  the  faithful  appli- 
cation of  the  forceps,  —  but  they  must  and  shall  give.  We  have 
also  a  decent  philosophical  apparatus  given.  Have  prospect  of  a 
mineralogical  cabinet  at  almost  a  gift,  from  Brother  Barry,  who  is 
now  superintendent  of  the  public  schools  in  Wisconsin.  On  the 
whole,  we  are  getting  along  better  than  we  had  grounds  to  expect." 

August  31,  1858,  he  wrote  to  his  brother  Levi :  — 

"  We  have  succeeded  in  getting  a  pretty  large  Library,  —  about  six 
thousand  volumes  without  costing  the  College  anything  but  the  ex- 
pense of  bookcases.  We  have  a  good  philosophical  apparatus, 
choice,  but  not  large  ;  a  fair  chemical  apparatus  ;  and  a  fair  collec- 
tion of  minerals,  etc." 

How  some  of  these  donations  came  appears  also  by  the  follow- 
ing pencil  memorandum  on  a  report  of  date  June  11,  1860 :  — 

"Dr.  Sibley  [Librarian  at  Harvard,  no  doubt]  has  sent  over  two 
or  three  large  packages  of  books  ;  Mr.  Reuben  Carver,  of  Somerville, 
has  given  one  hundred  and  twenty  volumes  ;  a  gentleman  of  Boston 
has  given  some  one  hundred  volumes,  among  them,  perhaps,  forty 
or  fifty  valuable  ones  from  the  late  Dr.  Bentley's  library.  Gentle- 
men in  Cambridge  and  other  towns  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston  have 
also  Bent  us  books." 

Also  by  the  following  characteristic  letter:  — 


288  EOSEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

Medford,  December  31,  1860. 
Hon.  Richard  Frothingham,  Jr. 

Dear  Sir,  —  There  is  a  work  entitled  "History  of  the  Siege  of 
Boston,  and  of  the  Battles  of  Lexington,  Concord,  and  Bunker 
Hill,"^  etc.,  published  in  Boston,  1849,  8vo,  which,  I  am  chagrined 
to  say,  nobody  has  given  to  our  College  Librar}',  —  probably  for  the 
reason  that  they  who  own  it  appreciate  it  too  highly  to  give  it  away. 
But  the  consequence  to  us  is  very  unfortunate  ;  since  we  have  no 
books  in  the  librar}^  save  those  which  have  been  given. 

It  has  occurred  to  me  that  I  might  apply  to  you,  and  say,  that 
should  you  know  any  gentleman  who  has  the  work,  and  who  does 
not  look  upon  it  as  too  valuable  to  be  given  away,  you  would  do  us  a 
great  favor  by  inducing  him  to  send  a  copy  to  Tufts. 

Very  truly  yours, 

H.  BALLOU,  2d. 

Such  drudgery  should  not  have  been  left  for  Dr.  Ballou  to 
perform.  "  It  was  but  putting  a  noble  Samson  to  grind  in  a 
prison  house,"  Dr.  Brooks  exclaims. 

"  Dr.  Ballou's  manner  of  conducting  a  recitation  was  peculiar," 
says  Rev.  Charles  H.  Leonard,  d.d.  "He  rarely  ever  put  a  series 
of  direct  questions.  He  oftener  began  by  giving  an  outline  of  the 
subject,  or  by  approaching  it  from  some  new  side  ;  or  by  illustrating 
some  principle  of  underlying  truth.  To  one  unacquainted  with  his 
methods  it  might  seem  that  no  questions  would  come.  But  wait. 
The  teacher  pauses  ;  and  while  his  eye  is  fixed  upon  some  member  of 
the  class,  the  voice  is  pitched  to  a  little  sharper  key  in  one  of  those 
test  questions  from  which  there  is  no  escape.  It  was  as  if  he  had 
led  the  class  to  some  new  eminence  and  then  asked.  What  do  you  see  ? 
What  objects  crowd  the  wide  districts  that  lie  out  before  you  ? "  ^ 

Says  a  member  of  the  second  class  in  Tufts  College  :  "  There 
were  only  ten  in  our  class  and  three  in  the  first.  Dr.  Ballou 
then  lived  in  Medford,  and  he  took  his  dinners  with  us.     Always 

1  Mr.  Frothingham,  the  reader  will  recall,  was  the  author. 

2  In  Ladies'  Repositoiy,  July,  1869. 


COLLEGE  BOYS'   PRANKS.  289 

dignified,  and  always  commanding  deference  and  due  respect,  he 
nevertheless  was  one  of  us' to  the  extent  of  telling  stories  at 
the  dinner  table.  In  the  recitation  room,  he  had  a  peculiar  way 
of  bringing  the  pencil  to  the  paper  in  marking  a  recitation  ;  a 
boy  felt  that  Dr.  Ballou  had  then  and  there  measured  his 
knowledge  of  the  subject. 

"  The  under  classes  had  eleven  or  twelve  members  each. 
With  more  students  more  college  pranks  were  in  order.  At 
prayers  in  the  chapel,  —  then  upstairs  in  the  main  college 
building,  —  the  '  dear  old  Doctor  '  always  presided.  The  altar 
rested  on  a  movable  platform.  One  morning  it  happened  the 
large  college  Bible  was  missing  —  some  mischievous  boy  had  hid- 
den it  under  the  platform  —  and  in  its  place  was  an  unabridged 
dictionary,  a  book  of  much  the  same  appearance.  The  Doctor 
opened  the  book  in  his  usual  forceful  way,  looked  at  the  page, 
adjusted  his  glasses  and  looked  again,  then  closed  it  with  more 
than  usual  force,  and  prayed  as  he  had  never  prayed  in  that 
chapel  before.  Few  of  the  boys  knew  what  it  meant  until 
they  saw  another  Bible  on  the  desk  the  next  day.  The  boys 
of  forty  years  ago  protest  that  they  all  really  loved  the  old 
Doctor,  and  that  in  the  moment  of  discovering  the  dictionary 
on  the  sacred  desk,  he  mistook  some  boy's  love  of  mischievous 
fun  for  disrespect  toward  him  ;  he  felt  that  he  was  mocked  in 
his  gray  hairs.  After  that  prayer  some  one  —  it  is  hinted  that 
it  may  have  been  a  boy  who  is  now  a  well-known  clergyman  — 
wrote  the  following  doggerel  on  the  back  of  one  of  the  chapel 
benches : — 

'  Holy  Bible,  Book  of  books. 
In  vain  for  thee  the  old  Prex  looks  ! 
But  cursed  be  he  forevermore 
Who  stole  the  gift  of  Whittemore  ! '  ^ 

"  A  few  months  passed,  and  one  morning  the  lost  Bible  was 

1  Rev.  Thomas  Whittemore  had  given  this  Bible  to  the  College. 


290  HOSE  A  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

again  on  the  desk.  The  professors  were  not  all  in  the  habit  of 
attending  prayers  regularly,  but  this  morning  at  prayers  they 
were  all  seated  back  of  the  President,  and  as  he  prayed  long  and 
earnestly  for  the  special  offender,  and  returned  thanks  that 
things  hidden  were  'brought  to  light,'  it  has  been  intimated 
that  every  one  of  those  professors  was  looking  between  his 
fingers  to  discover  the  culprit." 

Again,  when  one  dark  night  some  of  the  boys  took  in  pieces 
the  large  express  wagon  of  Talbot,  who  had  charge  of  the  Com- 
mons, and  tugged  them  upstairs,  where  the  old  Doctor  found 
them  put  together  in  order  before  his  chapel  desk  the  next  morn- 
ing when  he  entered  for  prayers,  those  old  boys  of  forty  years 
ago  aver  that  he  took  the  practical  joke  on  Talbot  too  much  to 
heart.  He  was  disposed  to  take  it  as  a  personal  affront,  whereas 
no  ill  will  was  intended.  Had  he  once  been  a  college  boy,  — 
as  his  mother  had  hoped  and  his  grandfather  had  feared,^  —  he 
would,  no  doubt,  have  taken  the  proverbial,  mischievous  college 
pranks  less  seriously. 

On  January  20,  1857,  President  Ballou  wrote  to  his  brother 
Levi :  — 

"  Our  terms,  of  twenty  weeks'  length,  grow  very  tedious  towards 
the  latter  part.  I  have  so  much  to  do,  that  I  literally  tire  out  each 
day ;  and  having  to  preach  at  the  college  on  Sundays,  besides  sup- 
erintending, and  filling  two  Professorships,  during  the  week,  I  get 
no  day  of  rest  from  beginning  to  end  ;  all  this,  with  the  fact  that  it  is 
hard  teaching  old  dogs  new  tricks,  in  other  words,  that  I  do  not  work 
so  easily  as  if  I  had  begun  when  young,  —  all  this  I  say  makes  a 
heav}"  task  of  it.  For  nearly  a  week  after  the  beginning  of  vacation, 
I  neither  did  anything,  nor  thought  of  anything,  but  dozed.  Now, 
however,  I  seem  to  be  returning  to  myself." 

Again  he  wrote  to  him,  June  24,  1857 :  — 

"  I  have  been  intending,  for  some  time  past,  to  write  you,  inviting 

1  See  pp.  5-2-55. 


PROF.  BENJAMIN  F,  TWEED     WILLIAM  N.  EAYRS.     PROF.  JOHN  P.  MARSHALL. 
HEMAN  N.  DEARBORN.  PRES.  BALLOU.  HARVEY  HERSEY. 

PROF.  JEROME  SCHNEIDER.  PROF.  ALPHEUS  A.  KEEN. 


PATRONAGE  OF  THE   COLLEGE.  291 

you  to  be  here  Commencement  Day,  July  8,  which  is  the  second 
Wednesday  of  that  month.  It  is  to  be  our  first  commencement,  — 
three  graduate  on  that  day.  Service  to  begin  about  10  or  10.30 
A.M.  After  commencement  through,  then  a  dinner  or  collation ; 
then  in  the  afternoon,  say  3.30,  an  oration  by  Mr.  Whipple,  of  Bos- 
ton, before  the  Literary  Societies  of  the  Students.  We  hope  you 
and  Mrs.  Ballou  will  come,  say  day  before  ;  for  I  shall  be  so  busy 
till  commencement  that  I  can't  speak  to  you.  But  afterwards  will 
have  a  visit ;  and  then  we  '11  arrange  about  going  to  Orange  during 
vacation." 

February  7,  1858,  he  writes :  — 

"  Old  age  is  creeping  upon  two  of  us.  .  .  .  We  are  in  vacation,  and 
have  been  for  some  weeks.  ...  I  have  been  dozing  a  large  part  of 
the  time,  —  was  not  very  well  at  first,  —  had  some  troublesome  bron- 
chial affection  ;  but  am  getting  over  it,  I  think." 

In  the  following  June  he  writes,  jocosely  :  — 

"I  must  have  more  exercise  than  I  have  taken  for  the  last  four 
years  almost, — or  I  shall  be  an  old  woman." 

August  31,  1858,  he  again  wrote  to  his  brother  Levi :  — 

"  College  is  about  as  usual.  Our  numbers  don't  increase  as  I 
hoped.  Probably  about  the  same  numbers  this  year  as  last ;  there 
ought  to  be  more.  It  makes  me  feel  rather  sad,  and  disappointed  ; 
though,  thus  far,  we  have,  on  the  whole,  been  favored  in  comparison 
with  most  of  our  other  colleges  at  their  outset.  But  I  don't  like  the 
symptom  of  non-patronage,  in  the  fewness  of  applicants.  I  do  not 
know  but  that  it  is  natural  it  should  be  so  ;  —  that  we  must  live 
long  enough  to  establish  some  I'eputation,  before  we  have  reason  to 
expect  a  flocking  in.  At  all  events,  we  work  hard  enough  to  merit 
success." 

It  was  for  the  purpose  of  increasing  the  patronage  of  Tufts 
College  that  Thomas  Whittemore  prepared  and  published  in 
the   Trumpet,  June   18,  1859,  a  very  complete  sketch  of  Dr. 


292  HOSE  A  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

Ballou.  Dr.  Ballou  never  talked  of  himself,  and  as  dernier  resort 
Thomas  Whittemore  wrote  to  Rev.  Levi  Ballou,  May  7, 
1859:  — 

"  Your  brother  (H.  B.,  2d)  is  so  busy  just  at  this  time,  that  he  is 
not  able  to  answer  the  following  questions." 

Twelve  questions  follow,  and  he  concludes  :  — 

"  If  you  don't  answer  this  letter,  I  shall  come  to  North  Orange 
and  stay  overnight  with  you  ;  and  I  advise  you  therefore  to  answer  as 
matter  of  economy.  And  now  1  remain,  very  affectionately.  Yours, 
etc." 

The  class  which  entered  College  in  the  fall  of  1859  had  twenty 
members,  the  largest  class  up  to  that  date,  and  there  were 
seventy  students  in  the  College. 

In  the  "  hard  times "  that  followed  the  panic  of  1857,  Dr. 
Ballou  appears  also  to  have  worried  somewhat  that  the  few 
thousand  dollars  he  had  saved  were  jeopardized  by  the  business 
depression  and  fall  in  values  in  Illinois.  But  in  his  domestic 
circle  there  was  cause  for  greater  anxiety.  In  a  letter  dated 
"  Tufts  College,  January  13,  1859,"  he  foresees  the  first  break 
in  the  family  circle  in  a  score  of  years.     He  writes  :  — 

"  We  have  just  closed  our  term,  —  ending  it  night  before  last.  I 
should  be  very  happy  to  take  a  trip  to  Orange,  some  time  in  the  vaca- 
tion ;  but  do  not  think  it  will  be  practicable.  Harriet  (R.  A.  Ballou's 
wife)  is  sick  at  our  house,  and  I  fear  will  not  recover.  She  has 
always  been  very  slender  ;  for  some  years  past  she  has  been  troubled 
with  difficulty  in  breathing  if  she  attempted  to  walk  fast,  or  ascend  a 
hiU,  or  stairs  ;  this  has  passed  into  palpitation  of  the  heart." 

Six  days  later  she  died.  She  had  no  children.  With  deep 
grief  her  mortal  remains  were  laid  at  rest  in  the  family  lot  at 
Mount  Auburn,  near  those  of  the  two  little  sisters,  and  there, 
one  after  another,  those  nearest  of  kin  followed  her.^ 

'  After  the  father,  the  mother,  Clarissa,  died,  April  30,  1876,  at  Medford ;  always  of 


OVEBEXEBTION  FOB  THE  COLLEGE.  293 

On  July  11, 1859,  President  Ballon  invited  Honorable  Richard 
Frothingliam  "  to  preside  at  our  Commencement  Dinner,  at  the 
College,  on  Wednesday,  thirteenth  inst.,  12  or  12.30  o'clock." 
He  writes :  — 

"  I  apply  thus  to  you  for  two  conjoint  reasons,  1,  that  I  am  un- 
fitted by  nature  to  discharge  that  office,  and  shall  be  unfitted  also  by 
extreme  fatigue  and  exhaustion  ;  and  2,  that  you  are  the  best  fitted 
by  nature  to  fill  the  place  among  all  whom  I  can  now  call  to  mind. 
These  two  reasons,  conjoined  naturally  in  one,  give  my  earnest 
request  a  weight  which  I  beg  you  to  yield  to.  Trusting  that  you  will 
at  least  do  it  out  of  compassion  to  me, 

I  remain  most  sincerely  yours, 

H.  BALLOU,  2d." 

October  16,  1859,  he  wrote  to  Rev.  Levi  Ballon  :  — 

"We  are  getting  along  slowly  at  College,  —  prosperously,  on  the 
whole,  with  a  good  deal  of  hard  work.  How  long  I  shall  stand  it  I 
do  not  know.  I  got  so  fagged  out  at  the  close  of  the  last  term,  that 
I  thought  it  not  improbable  that  my  labors  here  might  come  to  their 
end  ere  long.  And  it  may  be  the  case.  But  I  give  myself  as  little 
anxiety  on  this  score  as  possible.  At  present,  I  feel  better  than  I 
did  then.  But  the  second  term  of  the  year  has  usually  been  the 
trying  one." 

On  Dr.  Sawyer's  retirement  to  his  farm  at  Clinton,  Dr.  Ballou 
wrote  to  him,  April  17,  1861,  half  in  protest :  — 

"  I  suppose,  however,  that  you  intend  to  devote  more  time  than  you 
would  otherwise  have,  to  the  works  which  you  mention.     In  this  way, 

quiet  manners  and  retiring  habits,  the  death  of  her  husband  "  let  fall  a  shadow  upon  her 
heart  and  life  which  was  never  lifted  in  this  world."  Next  Charles  Hosea  died  at  Med- 
ford,  May  2,  1S80,  unmarried.  At  Medford,  on  October  28,  1883,  Julia  Crehore  Ballou 
died,  and  June  16,  1885,  also  in  uneventful  maidenhood,  Mary  Jane  Ballou  passed  on ; 
they  had  lived  in  closest  intimacy ;  they  were  intelligent,  helpful,  and  strong  in  Christian 
faith.  Late  in  life  Giddings  Hyde  Ballon  married  Mrs.  Azuba  C.  Taylor,  of  Chatham, 
Mass.,  but  dying  June  8, 1886,  he  left  no  children,  and  in  his  death  the  last  of  the  lineal 
descendants  of  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  passed  away. 


294  HOSE  A  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

you  may  indeed  do  the  world  and  the  cause  of  truth  a  more  eminent 
and  enduring  service  than  could  be  accomplished  by  any  preaching. 
I  shall  not  live  to  see  the  works,  but  the  assurance  that  they  are 
going  on  steadily  towards  completion  would  go  far  towards  reconcil- 
ing one  to  the  change.  Pray  let  me  hope  that  your  farm  .  .  .  will 
not  so  far  absorb  your  mind,  as  to  divert  it  from  the  prosecution  of 
those  works.  Life  is  wearing  away,  and  the  composition  of  such 
treatises  is  a  long  and  heavy  task,  which  needs  to  be  accomplished 
before  your  energies  begin  to  fail,  as  mine  do.  I  had  looked  forward 
to  the  putting  of  several  things  together,  which  I  now  begin  to  see 
plainly  that  I  shall  never  arrange. ^  I  mention  this,  that  you  may 
infer,  from  small  things,  the  danger  to  which  greater  enterprises  are 
exposed.   .   .  . 

"  We  have  been  wonderfully  favored  in  the  accumulation  of  books, 
—  quite  miscellaneous  on  the  whole,  but  still  containing  a  large  num- 
ber of  valuable  works.  In  one  word,  we  have  a  splendid  Appendage 
to  a  College  Library.  Two  or  three  thousand  dollars,  for  the  pur- 
chase of  books  to  fill  out  certain  departments,  would  put  us  on  a 
level  with  the  Libraries  of  most  of  our  old  Colleges  in  New  Eng- 
land.  .  .  . 

"Your  namesake,  or  awie-namesake,  Thomas  Jefferson,  said  that 
he  trembled  for  his  country,  when  he  considered  that  God  was  just. 
We  see,  now,  how  great  reason  he  had  for  his  observation.  Here, 
our  Politicians  have  been  playing  the  game  of  '  scornful '  with  God's 
laws,  — the  laws  that  really  control  the  fortunes  of  States  as  well  as 
of  individuals.  They  thought  they  could  talk  those  laws  down, 
especially  that  they  could  vote  them  down,  and  lobby  them  down, 
and,  mightiest  of  all !  sneer  them  down.  Has  God,  in  his  righteous 
judgment,  left  them  sense  enough  to  see,  now,  what  comes  of  their 
outrage  of  Heaven  and  Earth?  Or  will  they  only  think  that  the 
catastrophe  has  occurred  because  of  some  lack  of  shrewdness  in  the 
way  in  which  they  went  about  to  upset  the  laws  of  the  universe? 
Or,  that,  if  they  had  not   been  interfered  with  by  the  Republican 

1  This  language  seems  to  us  now  prophetic.  Dr.  Ballou  died  on  the  twenty-seventh  day 
of  the  following  month. 


^  ffi 


rC    2 


k 


COLLEGE  LABORS  ENDED.  295 

spirit,  they  would  have  succeeded  in  reversing  the  established  order 
of  Heaven?  Our  Demagogues  have  been,  for  years,  educating  the 
slaveocracy  to  grasp  all,  and  to  carry  every  point  by  threatening  and 
bravado ;  and  now,  when  they  see  them  put  those  lessons  in  practice, 
will  they  also  see  how  much  they  themselves  have  done  towards  the 
event?  The  Lord  grant  them  an  inkling  of  discernment;  and  may 
the  catastrophe  be  a  solemn  admonition  to  our  people  at  large  to 
take  heed,  in  future,  how  they  allow  anybody  to  trifle  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  Right !  " 

Just  as  President  Ballou  was  finishing  his  work  at  Tufts  Col- 
lege, Thomas  A.  Goddard's  Report  for  the  Executive  Commit- 
tee (submitted  May  28,  1861)  was  penned. 

"  Your  Committee  are  happy  to  report,"  he  says,  "  that  so  far  as 
regards  the  progress  of  the  students  in  their  studies,  their  conduct, 
and  their  intercourse  with  the  members  of  the  Faculty,  the  state  of 
things  is  eminently  satisfactory,  and  it  is  believed  there  never  has 
existed  a  better  state  of  feeling  between  all  connected  with  the 
College,  than  exists  at  present." 

"  At  first  Dr.  Ballou  was  unable  to  perform  college  duty," 
said  the  editor  of  the  Quarterly :  ^  "  then,  his  disease  was 
threatening ;  then  it  became  critical ;  then  there  was  no  possi- 
bility of  recovery,  —  no  person  so  situated,  said  the  medical 
authority,  ever  recovered  !  "  "  Although  rapidly  failing  during 
the  entire  day,"  said  the  Boston  Advertiser,  May  28,  "  he 
retained  consciousness  and  was  able  to  converse  until  within  a 
few  minutes  of  his  death."  Calm  and  resigned,  he  quietly 
passed  away  at  the  President's  house  at  four  o'clock  Monday 
afternoon.  May  27,  1861,  aged  sixty-four  years,  seven  months, 
and  nine  days.  His  funeral  Friday  afternoon  was  attended 
by  his  widow  and  children,  and  his  brother  Levi,  and  a  few 
friends  at  the  house,  where  Rev.  C.  H.  Leonard  conducted  the 

1  July,  1861,  p.  309. 


296  E08EA   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

services,  and  a  special  train  from  Boston  brought  a  large  gath- 
ering of  representative  men  to  the  more  formal  services  con- 
ducted by  Rev.  A.  A.  Miner  in  the  College  chapel. 

"  Yesterday  v^e  announced  the  dangerous  illness  of  Hosea 
Ballou,  2d,  D.D.,  President  of  Tufts  College,"  said  the  Boston 
Herald,  May  28,  "  and  we  have  now  to  add  the  sad  intelligeikce 
of  his  death.  .  .  .  His  death  was  caused  by  disease  of  the 
kidneys,  produced  by  overexertion  in  his  college  labors." 

Substantially  this,  with  some  reference  to  his  eminent  serv 
ices,  was  the  message  which  the  telegraph  wires  flashed  to 
Mason  and  Dixon's  line  in  the  South  and  to  the  Nebraska 
plains  in  the  West,  where  the  Pony  Express  of  those  days  took 
the  message  and,  swift  as  the  wind,  carried  it  across  the  Rocky 
Mountains  to  a  servant  of  the  Lord  at  the  Golden  Gate  whom 
Dr.  Ballou  loved  as  a  son.  At  that  moment  Thomas  Starr 
King  was  at  the  base  of  Mount  Shasta,  towering  sixteen  thou- 
sand feet.  "  Shasta !  white,  majestic,  priestly !  "  he  wrote, 
"  sacred  to  me  forever,  not  only  by  its  snowy  splendor  and 
enchanting  form,  but  by  association  with  our  translated  and 
transfigured  Dr.  Ballou.  On  the  day  I  was  looking  at  Shasta 
from  its  base,  and  thinking  of  that  noble  man,  he  was  passing 
up  to  wear  the  garments  white  and  glistering,  which  were  not 
put  on  him,  but  put  out  from  him,  the  natural  drapery  of  his 
truthfulness  and  sanctity.  I  feel  his  loss  every  week,  and  more 
and  more.  Oh,  that  I  could  have  been  with  you  in  your  serv- 
ice by  his  still  form,  —  a  temple  from  which  the  priest  had 
passed  to  a  greater  usefulness  and  loftier  worship  ! " 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

ESTIMATES    OF   HIS   CHARACTER,    ABILITY,    AND   WORK. 

"It  is  pleasant  to  consider  that  the  agency  which  the  wise  and 
good  exert,  does  not  cease  with  then*  death,  nor  stop  even  at  the 
Umits  which  they  themselves  designed.  It  goes  out  from  their  hands 
modified  indeed,  into  the  hands  of  their  successors,  and  eventually 
becomes  a  part  of  the  impersonal  moral  force  that  is  diffused  through 
the  world.  Under  the  direction  of  God,  it  works  on  to  wider  results, 
and  gradually  throws  off  even  the  imperfections  with  which  it  is 
always  associated  while  it  remains  a  '  treasure  in  earthen  vessels.' " 

In  writing  of  "Rev.  Hosea  Ballon:  his  Parentage  and  Early 
Life,"  1  forty-two  years  ago,  Hosea  Ballon,  2d,  d.d.,  nsed  this 
language.  How  well  these  words  apply  to  him  also,  let  others 
say! 

With  names  so  similar,  and  intimately  associated  in  habitual 
devotion  to  the  same  cause  for  nearly  forty  years,  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that,  to  many  of  the  present  generation,  the  identity  of 
the  two  men  seems  to  be  blended  in  one  personality.  Hosea 
Ballon,  senior,  —  "Father  Ballon," — was  the  quarryman  who 
brought  to  light  the  great  granite  blocks  of  Uuiversalist  truth ; 
Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  —  "  Dr.  Ballou,"  —  was  the  architect  and 
builder  who  put  those  huge  blocks  in  place  on  solid  foundation 
and,  rearing  the  superstructure,  shaped  them  and  put  them 
firmly  in  position  so  that  the  work  should  endure,  — sometimes 
indeed  holding  the  quarryman  in  check  when  he  would  un- 
wisely have  discharged  a  blast  that  might  endanger  the  super- 
structure. 

Shortly  after  Father  Ballou  died,  in  1852,  in  the  course  of  a 

1  In  Quarterly,  April,  1854,  p.  175. 

297 


298  HO  SEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

sermon  on  "  Duties  of  the  Church,"  ^   Theodore  Parker  said  of 
him:  — 

"  He  went  through  the  land  proclaiming  this  great  truth  [that 
God  is  the  Father  of  the  whole  race  of  man,  aud  that  it  is  his  will 
'  not  one  of  his  little  ones  should  perish '  ] ,  and  he  has  wrought  a 
revolution  in  the  thoughts  and  minds  of  men  more  mighty  than  any 
which  has  been  accomplished  during  the  same  time  by  all  the  politi- 
cians in  the  nation.  At  the  commencement  of  his  labors  there 
probably  were  not  five  thousand  persons  who  would  give  heed  to  his 
teachings;  now  there  are  probably  five  millions." 

Father  Ballou's  work  in  founding  societies,  Dr.  Ballou  could 
not  have  done. 

Referring  to  "  Universalism  as  a  consecutive  movement  tending 
to  organization  and  ecclesiastical  forms,  as  the  germ  of  a  denomi- 
nation," says  Rev.  George  H.  Emerson,  d.d.  :  "  Winchester  and 
Murray  were,  in  some  respects,  eflScient  pioneers  in  this  work ;  but 
the  leading  spirit  —  the  one  whose  energy,  eloquence,  force  of  charac- 
ter, and  sterling  intellect  made  him  distinctively  the  '  father  of 
modern  Universalism,'  was  Hosea  Ballou,  senior.  .  .  .  The  elder 
Hosea  Ballou  was  not  a  scholar  ;  and  though  possessing,  in  large 
degree,  the  intellectual  qualities  which  fit  one  to  become  a  critic,  he 
was  not,  in  any  eminent  degree,  a  critic. ^  .  .  .  But  scholarship  and 
criticism,  though  never  the  pioneers  of  a  religious  movement,  are 
certain  to  follow,  —  that  is,  if  the  movement  has  in  it  vitality  and 
substance  enough  to  merit  the  attention  of  scholars  and  critics.  A 
denomination  that  cannot  produce  a  literature  will  necessarily  be  of 
short  life.  .  .  .  Dr.  Ballou  has  from  the  first  been  acknowledged  as 
distinctively  the  scholar  and  critic  of  our  denomination.  .  .  .  And 
never  was  a  man  better  qualified  for  such  a  task.  By  inclination,  by 
habit,  by  moral  and  religious  proclivity,  by  temperament,  firmness 
of  purpose,  and  comprehensiveness  of  understanding,  he  was  the 
providential  man  that  came  at  the  time  appointed.     No  other  man 

1  See  "  Parker  Miscellanies,"  in  Boston  Public  Library,  vol.  II,  No.  10. 

2  In  Quarterly,  July,  1861,  p.  314. 


ESTIMATES  OF  HIS   CHABACTEB.  299 

has  done  so  much  to  make  Universalist  theology  respected  alike  by 
those  who  do,  and  by  those  who  do  not,  believe  in  it."  Dr.  Emerson 
characterizes  Dr.  Ballou's  labors  as  "  of  the  permanent  kind.  As  a 
controversialist,  he  knew  principles,  not  men.  So  clearly  did  he  dis- 
criminate between  principles  and  expedients  —  between  the  durable 
and  the  transient  —  that  productions  which  came  from  him  a  quarter 
of  a  century  ago  are  pertinent  to  the  wants  even  of  to-day."  ^ 

The  secular  press,  filled  with  news  of  the  war,  of  England's 
neutrality,  and  with  rumors  of  success  and  defeat  in  battle, 
gave  large  space  for  words  of  generous  tribute  to  Dr.  Ballou's 
memory.     Said  the  Boston  Evening  Transcript :  — 

"  Dr.  Ballon  was  one  of  the  most  learned  theologians,  and  one  of 
the  most  vigorous  aud  idiomatic  writers  that  any  body  of  Christians 
in  our  country  could  produce.  H's  published  volumes  belong  to  the 
standard  literature  of  the  Church.  His  articles  were  broadly  con- 
ceived and  so  thoroughly  reasoned,  that  his  masterly  hand  could  at 
once  be  detected.  His  concise  criticisms  were  noted  for  their  strong 
sense,  genial  humor,  and  admirable  wit.  .  .  .  Dr.  Ballou  was  prob- 
ably the  most  learned  theologian  in  the  ranks  of  self-educated  men 
in  our  country." 

Said  the  Boston  Daily  Journal :  — 

"  Unassuming  in  his  manners,  and  of  great  personal  worth,  the 
influence  of  his  character  was  felt  by  all  with  whom  he  associated. 
All  who  knew  him  loved  him  well." 

Said  the  Boston  Daily  Advertiser  :  — 

"As  an  ecclesiastical  scholar  he  had  no  superior  ;  for  a  diligence, 
indomitable  perseverance  of  research,  and  comprehensive  intellect 
bespoke  the  scholar  to  whose  merits  the  praises  of  the  ablest  men 
have  testified."  ^ 

This  statement  the  Christian  Register  (Unitarian),  June  22, 
1861,  quoted  approvingly,  in  the  course  of  an  extended  notice 
of  his  life,  premising  :  — 

1  In  Quarterly,  July,  1861,  p.  321. 

'  Seo  issues  of  those  daily  pai^ers  dated  May  28, 1861. 


300  HOSE  A   BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

"We  recently  recorded  the  decease  of  this  eminent  Christian 
teacher  and  scholar.  We  wish  to  furnish  now  a  more  full  statement 
of  his  high  claims  to  public  regard." 

Estimates  of  the  man  aside,  all  of  the  contemporary,  and 
indeed  subsequent,  sketches  of  Dr.  Ballou  appear  to  have 
used  the  sketch  prepared  in  1859  by  Rev.  Thomas  Whitte- 
more,  with  Rev.  Levi  Ballou's  assistance,^  for  matters  of  fact. 

But  the  veracity  of  farewell  eulogies  and  obituary  notices,  it 
is  truly  said,  may  often  be  impeached.  What  matters  it  that, 
at  the  hour  of  parting,  kind  words  are  said  ?  That  the  wise  and 
great  of  other  creeds  appreciated  Dr.  Ballou  in  his  lifetime,  let 
the  following  incident,  related  to  me  by  Hon.  Timothy  T. 
Sawyer,  testify  :  — 

"  When  scarcely  out  of  his  teens,  Starr  King  delivered  his  lecture 
on  Goethe  in  Cambridge.  Among  his  hearers  was  Rev.  Dr.  James 
Walker,  later  President  of  Harvard  College.  Dr.  Walker  went  to 
the  College  at  Cambridge  from  Charlestown,  where  for  twenty-one 
years,  from  1818  to  1839,  he  had  been  the  acceptable  and  successful 
pastor  of  the  Harvard  (Unitarian)  Society,  and  had  become  eminent 
as  a  profound  thinker  and  powerful  preacher.  Soon  after  the  deliv- 
ery of  this  lecture  by  young  King,  the  doctor  was  calling  on  one  of 
his  old  parishioners  in  Charlestown,  a  lady  of  marked  intelligence, 
and  the  lecture  soon  became  the  subject  of  conversation.  '  I  was 
surprised  at  its  excellence,'  remarked  the  doctor.  '  It  was  rather  a 
bold  thing  to  attempt,  but  it  was  a  successful  effort  for  the  young 
man  —  and  would  indeed  have  been  for  any  man.  He  has  a 
remarkable  mind,  I  think,  which  promises  eminence  if  rightly  di- 
rected. Who  among  his  clerical  brethren  will  be  likely  to  have  influ- 
ence with  him,  1  wonder?'  To  which  question  his  lady  friend 
replied  :  '  I  understand  that  Rev.  Hosea  Ballou,  of  Medford,  is  his 
confidant  and  most  highly  esteemed  friend.'  '  Ah,  well,'  said  Dr. 
Walker,  '  I  know  Ballou  very  well,  and  he  could  not  be  in  better 
hands.'" 

1  See  p.  291. 


TUFTS  COLLEGE,  1896. 


1.    View  from  the  New  Kailway  Station. 
From  the  Point  ok  View  of  the  Picture  in  1855. 
3,    View  from  the  Campus, 


ESTIMATES  OF  HIS   CHAEACTEB.  301 

But  has  Dr.  Ballou's  reputation  stood  the  ultimate  test  of 
time  ?  As  the  coterie  among  whom  he  was  "  almost  omnipotent  " 
pass  on,  what  is  the  verdict,  in  calm  judgment,  of  those  who 
follow  him  ?  Five  years  after  his  death  Rev.  T.  B.  Thayer  d.d., 
said  :  ^  "  We  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  to  the  industry  and  ex- 
ample and  personal  influence,  to  the  thorough  scholarship, 
sound  philosophy,  and  patient  inquiries  of  this  one  man,  our 
clergy  owe,  more  than  to  any  other  one  cause,  the  position  they 
occupy  at  the  present  time  in  the  educational,  theological,  and 
controversial  world."  Referring  to  his  humility,  modesty,  and 
unselfishness,  Dr.  Thayer  says :  "•  There  never  was  a  more 
modest  man  than  Dr.  Ballon.  .  .  .  Nor  was  there  ever  one 
more  thoroughly  free  from  all  worldliness  and  selfishness  of 
every  sort.  Never  did  any  one  so  much  work  for  so  little  com- 
pensation, or  with  so  little  thought  of  compensation.  .  .  .  No 
one  could  be  with  him  long  without  seeing  and  loving  the  gen- 
uine goodness  of  the  man's  nature." 

"  So  meek  was  he,"  says  Dr.  Leonard,^  "  so  humble  in  his 
walk  from  day  to  day,  that  the  poorest  poor  came  forth  to  meet 
him  ;  and  none  could  think,  in  his  presence,  that  such  simplic- 
ity, gentleness,  considerate  affection  veiled  such  greatness." 

Speaking  of  Dr.  Ballou's  influence  upon  the  minds  and  char- 
acters of  the  young  men  under  his  care,^  Dr.  Leonard  says : 
"  They  came  near  enough  to  him  in  the  classroom  to  get  the 
effluence  of  his  life.  There  was  always  something  greater  than 
the  subject  of  the  lesson,  greater,  too,  than  the  wise  words  of 
the    teacher.     It  was  the  man,  tlie  power  of   a  life.     He  was 

1  In  Quarterly,  April,  1860,  pp.  242,  243,  and  346. 

=  In  Ladies'  Repository,  July,  1869. 

3  Thanks  to  Professor  H.  A.  Dearborn's  initiative,  and  the  affection  of  Dr.  Ballou's 
former  pupils,  his  marble  bust  (from  the  masterly  chisel  of  Story) — bathed  in  the  dim 
yellow  light  of  Goddard  Chapel,  surrounded  with  the  shade  of  the  academic  groves, 
which  were  planted  in  his  day  of  small  things  — now  looks  down  from  its  seat  of  honor 
upon  the  half  hundred  instructors  and  four  hundred  students  at  the  present  day  enrolled 
in  Tufts  College. 


302  HOSE  A  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

greater  than  anything  he  ever  said  or  did  ;  and  though  the 
student  might  not  accept  the  teaching,  he  could  not  resist  the 
teacher."  i 

The  late  eminent  commentator  and  historian  of  Cambridge, 
Rev.  Lucius  R.  Paige,  d.d.,  used  to  say,  pointing  to  portraits  of 
Father  Ballou,  Dr.  Ballon,  and  Thomas  Whittemore,  "  I  have 
lived  in  the  age  of  the  giants."  A  few  months  before  he  died 
he  took  me  into  his  library,  and  pointing  to  a  portrait  of  Hosea 
Ballou,  2d,  over  the  mantel  nearest  the  evening  light,  said: 
"  You  see  his  face  is  the  last  I  look  upon  every  night  before  I 
retire.  I  never  loved  a  man  as  I  loved  your  uncle.  In  his 
presence  time  passed  I  knew  not  how.  A  few  weeks  before  he 
left  us,  I  went  over  to  College  Hill  for  a  morning  call,  and 
before  I  was  aware  of  it  I  had  stayed  to  tea." 

In  a  recent  letter  to  the  author,  Rev.  John  S.  Lee,  d.d.,  says : 
"  Twice  before  he  assumed  the  active  duties  of  his  office  [as 
College  President],  he  visited  me  at  South  Woodstock,  Vt., 
where  I  was  teaching.  He  laid  before  me  his  views  and  plans 
in  regard  to  the  management  of  the  first  denominational 
college.  I  was  struck  with  his  broad  and  enlightened  views 
on  the  subject  of  the  higher  education.  .  .  .  He  advocated  a 
system  of  training  and  discipline  more  in  accordance  with  the 
natural  workings  and  tendencies  of  the  human  mind  than  had 
been  usually  entertained  up  to  that  time." 

In  earlier  chapters  I  have  quoted  the  opinions  expressed  by 
eminent  men  of  his  character,  ability,  and  work  as  pastor, 
teacher,  historian,  and  philosopher.  At  Roxbury  in  1871,  ten 
years  after  Dr.  Ballou's  death,  said  Rev.  W.  H.  Ryder,  d.d.,  of 
Chicago  :  "  He  was  a  thorough  student,  both  by  nature  and 
habit,  and  soon  took  the  foremost  place  in  the  denomination  as 
a  clear  thinker  and  trusty  scholar."  ^ 

'  In  Ladies' Repository,  July,  1869. 

-"  Roxbury  Semicentennial  Memorial,"  p.  69. 


ESTIMATES    OF  HIS   CHARACTER.  303 

Said  Rev.  J.  G.  Bartholomew,  d.d.  :  "  For  the  first  seventeen 
years  of  its  existence  this  church  enjoyed  the  ministry  of  one 
of  the  purest,  truest  men  that  ever  stood  in  a  pulpit  to  break  to 
the  people  '  the  bread  of  life.'  "  ^ 

Said  Rev.  A.  J.  Patterson,  d.d.  :  "  For  the  solidity,  the  spirit- 
uality, the  even  prosperity  of  this  parish  through  all  these  years, 
we  are  largely  indebted  to  his  eminently  careful,  faithful,  and 
judicious  leadership  in  the  beginning  of  its  history."^ 

"  Dr.  Ballou  was  of  childlike  simplicity  of  character,  of 
varied  and  profound  learning,  wise,  good,  and  great,"  said  Rich- 
ard Frothingham,  the  historian,^  in  1864.  Starr  King  tells  us 
he  once  "  felt  moved  to  go  down  into  Gehenna.  Not  daring  to 
go  alone,  I  obtained  the  guidance  of  Dr.  Ballou,  knowing  that 
in  his  society  I  should  be  safe  from  evil  spirits."  '* 

"  Of  all  the  worthies  in  this  company  of  church  leaders," 
says  Rev.  J.  G.  Adams,  d.d.,^  in  his  volume  of  sketches,  "  not 
one  of  them  is  entitled  to  a  higher  place  than  Hosea  Ballou, 
2d,  d.d.  .  .  .  We  have  no  fear  of  using  language  too  strong  in 
our  statement  of  his  character,  its  preeminence  and  worth." 

Referring  to  Dr.  Ballou's  rare  ability  "  to  simplify  everything 
that  he  touched,"  and  to  make  it  transparent.  Rev.  E.  G.  Brooks, 
D.D.,  cites  his  two  articles  in  the  Quarterly  (October,  1858  and 
1869)  on  the  Doctrine  of  Necessity,  and  he  adds :  "  For  the 
same  reason,  though  he  rarely  took  up  the  weapons  of  formal 
controversy,  woe  to  the  man  —  especially  woe  to  the  opponent 
of  Universalism  —  with  whom  he  crossed  swords  !  Some  of  his 
pieces  of  this  kind,  though  models  of  Christian  temper,  are 
terrible  examples  of  the  processes  of  annihilation  in  logic ;  not 
so  much  as  a  remnant  is  left  of  the  antagonist."^  "As  a 
master   of  theology,  a  thinker,  a  writer,  a  teacher,"  says  Dr. 

1 "  Roxbury  SemiceDtenial  Memorial,"  p.  80.       =  Ibid.,  p.  li. 
3  "  Tribute  to  Tliomas  Starr  Kiug,"  p.  42.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  130. 

c"  Fifty  Notable  Years,"  p.  95. 
6  For  an  example,  see  Expositor,  September,  1838,  pp.  331-346. 


304  HO  SEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

Brooks,  "  he  was  the  equal  of  any,  and  the  superior  of  most  in 
the  land." 

As  a  means  of  effectual,  permanent  growth,  Dr.  Ballou 
labored  for  organized  unity.  "Among  those  now  removed 
from  us  who  have  a  claim  to  be  remembered  as  having 
most  contributed  to  the  tolerably  efficient  organization  which 
our  church  has  to-day,  no  man  is  more  entitled  to  grateful 
remembrance  than  Hosea  Ballou,  2d, "  says  Dr.  Brooks.^ 

In  the  same  excellent  article,^  "  Speaking  of  all  that  has  served 
to  give  clearness  and  congruity  to  our  theology,^  elevation  to 
our  literature,  and  high  and  healthy  tone  to  our  religious  life," 
says  Dr.  Brooks,  "  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  no  man  has  so 
greatly  contributed  to  these  ends  as  Hosea  Ballou,  2d." 

Twenty  years  after  Dr.  Ballou  died.  Rev.  Alonzo  A.  Miner,  d.d., 
said  of  him  in  "  The  Memorial  History  of  Boston  "  :  *  "  There 
have  been  few  if  any  men  in  the  Universalist  ministry  in  Bos- 
ton or  elsewhere,  throughout  the  entire  history  of  the  Church, 
who  for  solid  learning,  moral  and  Christian  worth,  great  per- 
sonal weight,  and  permanent  influence  in  moulding  our  whole 
body  into  fair  proportions,  and  stimulating  it  to  an  increased 
activity  in  the  cause  of  education,  are  worthy  of  higher  honor, 
or  deeper  gratitude  than  is  Rev.  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  d.d." 

A  few  years  later.  Rev.  Adin  Ballou  wrote  :  ^  "  For  all  that 
is  really  admirable  and  promising  in  the  present  status  of  the 
Universalist  denomination,  it  is  probably  more  indebted  to  Hosea 
Ballou,  2d,  than  to  any  other  of  its  apostles." 

"  His  name  among  Universalists  is  like  the  name  of  Socrates 
in  the  world  of  letters,"  says  Rev.  Oscar  F.  Safford,  d.d.,^  re- 
ferring to  Hosea  Ballou,  2d. 

1  In  Quarterly,  October,  1878,  p.  404.       =  Ibid.,  p.  401. 

3  See,  for  example,  "  The  New  Testament  Doctrine  of  Salvation,"  in  Expositor,  Janu- 
ary, 1840,  pp.  33-51. 
*Vol.  Ill,  p.  502. 

E«'  Ballous  in  America,"  pp.  757,  758. 
6  "  Hosea  Ballou  :  A  Marvelous  Life  Story,"  p.  200. 


ESTIMATES  OF  HIS   CHABACTEB.  305 

A  quarter  of  a  century  after  Dr.  Ballou's  death,  Rev.  Rich- 
ard Eddy,  D.D.,  the  historian,  said  in  "  Universalism  in  Amer- 
ica "  :  ^  "  It  is  no  disparagement  of  the  learning  and  merits  of 
others  to  say  that  Dr.  Ballon  was,  in  attainments  and  in  the 
breadth  and  variety  of  his  abilities,  the  greatest  man  that  has 
been  engaged  in  the  Universalist  ministry." 

"  With  all  my  veneration  for  Rev.  Hosea  Ballon,  I  quite 
agree  with  Dr.  Eddy,"  says  Rev.  T.  J.  Sawyer,  d.d.,^  quoting 
the  above  paragraph,  nearly  a  third  of  a  century  after  Hosea 
Ballon,  2d,  died ;  and  he  adds :  "  He  was,  I  think,  the  most 
potent  among  all  the  formative  and  moulding  foroes  that  have 
been  active  in  shaping  our  religious  thought  and  making  our 
church  what  it  is." 

''  He  being  dead  yet  speaketh :  " 

Ye  realms  below  the  skies, 

Your  Maker's  praises  sing  ; 
Let  boundless  honors  rise 

To  heaven's  eternal  King ; 
O  bless  his  name  whose  love  extends 
Salvation  to  the  world's  far  ends. 

Give  glory  to  the  Lord, 

Ye  kindreds  of  the  earth  ; 
His  sovereign  power  record, 

And  show  his  wonders  forth, 
Till  heathen  tongues  his  grace  proclaim. 
And  every  heart  adores  his  name. 

'T  is  he  the  mountain  crowns 

With  forests  waving  wide  ; 
'T  is  he  old  ocean  bounds. 

And  heaves  her  roaring  tide  ; 
He  swells  the  tempests  on  the  main, 
Or  breathes  the  zephyr  o'er  the  plain. 

1  Vol  II,  pp.  197,  19S. 

2  In  Christian  Leader,  Boston,  April  6, 1893. 


306  HOSEA  BALLOU,  2d,  D.D. 

Still  let  the  waters  roar 

As  round  the  earth  they  roll : 

His  praise  forevermore 

They  sound  from  pole  to  pole. 

'T  is  nature's  wild,  unconscious  song 

O'er  thousand  waves  that  floats  along. 

His  praise,  ye  worlds  on  high, 
Display  with  all  your  spheres, 

Amid  the  darksome  sky, 
When  silent  night  appears. 

Oh,  let  his  works  declare  his  name 

Through  all  the  universal  frame. 


THE   END. 


MODEL  OF  BUST  OF  DR.   BALLOU. 
By    W.   W.  Siorv. 


INDEX. 


Abbott,  Ezra,  164. 

"  Absurdities  of  Philological  Hypercriti- 
cism,"  21'2. 

Adams,  J.  G.,  221,  236,  303. 

Agassiz,  Louis,  164,  271. 

"  Age  of  Giants,"  302. 

Alden,  William,  18. 

Allen,Etliau,26,  49. 

Amlierst  College,  238,  240,  278,  285. 

Ancestry,  5. 

"  Ancient  History  of  Universalism  (The)," 
127;  finished  at  32,  128;  erroneously  cred- 
ited to  Hosea  Ballou,  senior,  139;  edi- 
tions, 140;  editors  of,  140;  Dr.  Edward 
Beecher  on,  140;  Starr  King  on,  231. 

Annihilation  in  logic,  a  peculiar  ability  of 
Dr.  Ballou  in  controversy,  303. 

Ashford,  Kent,  England,  17. 

Aufait  (To  C.  H.  Fay),  208. 

Back  Bay  lands,  $50,000,  proceeds  of,  do- 
nated by  the  State,  285. 

Bacon,  Henry,  145,  278. 

Balch,  William  S.,  145. 

Balfour,  Walter,  145, 180. 

Ballou,  Adii),  9, 110,  123,  304. 

Ballou,  Alvin,  Dr.,  50,  224. 

Ballou,  Asahel,  15,  31,  35,  37,  41,  46,  50,  52. 

Ballou,  Barton.  250. 

Ballou,  Benjamin,  his  Ballou  Genealogy, 
6 ;  15,  31,  35,  54,  67,  290. 

Ballou,  Caroline  M.,  99. 

Ballou,  Charles  H.,  99,  292. 

Ballou,  Clarissa  (Hatch),  50,  75,  98,  292. 

Ballou,  Clarissa  H.,  99. 

Ballou,  David,  15,  34,  35,  40,  54,  87. 

Ballou,  Eli,  273. 

Ballou,  Giddings  Hyde,  75,  98;  portraits 
by,  52, 145, 181;  292. 

Ballou,  Harriet  E.,  99,  223,  248,  292. 

Ballou,  Hosea,  senior,  16.  34,  35,  36,  40,  54, 
55,  76,  81,  109,  139,  234,  297,  298,  302. 

Ballou,  Hosea,  2d,  birth,  5,  21;  hislancestry, 
6,  17;  birthplace,  22;  31,32,  35,  38,  48,  53, 
55;  his  first  sermon,  67;  first  preached  in 
Boston  or  vicinity,  79;  character  and  per- 
sonal appearance,  85, 105;  at  Staflord,  67- 
81;  at  Roxbury,  Sl-106;  at  Medford,  107; 
as  editor.  111 ;  his  belief  in  limited  future 
punishment,  66, 120;  Secretary  of  the  Gen- 
eral Convention  of  Universalists,  124; 
originator  of  and  principal  writer  for  the 
Expositor  and  the  Quarterly,  143;  index 
of  his  articles  in  the  Expositor  and  the 
Quarterly,  153-157;  contributes  the  first 
article  in  the  first  number  of  The  Univer- 
salist  Miscellany,  152;  Dr.  Channing's 
successor  as  an  Overseer  of  Harvard  Uni- 
versity, 158;  first  Doctor  of  Divinity  in 


the  Universalist  ministry,  160;  member  of 
Massachusetts  Board  of  Education,  165; 
an  increase  of  twelve  per  cent  in  appro- 
priations for  Massachusetts  schools,  KJO; 
secures  State  Scliolarships  for  Tufts  stu- 
dents, 166;  Moderator  of  the  General 
Convention  at  thirty,  106;  abroad,  175; 
his  rare  wit,  190;  bonsmots,  202;  i\sf  rater 
mendicus,  20ft;  books  dedicated  to  him, 
211;  vacations, 219;  K.Frotliingham's trib- 
ute to,  228;  J.  S.  Lee's  tribute  to,  240; 
endeavors  for  denominational  education 
of,  250;  secures  donations  for  Walnut  Hill 
Evangelical  Seminary  in  1840,  256;  his 
Charlestowu  ancestry,  257 ;  formally  rec- 
ommends to  the  General  Convention, 
September  16,  1^46,  the  appointment  of 
State  Agents  to  solicit  funds  tor  a  Collea;e 
or  University,  261;  at  Educational  Con- 
vention, May,  1847, 265 ;  preaches  his  great 
Occasional  ftermon  atNew  York,  Septem- 
ber, 1847,  265;  one  of  the  "  business  com- 
mittee "  of  five,  266;  insists  $100,000  at 
least  must  be  secured  as  endowment  of 
the  College  at  the  outset,  266;  on  change 
of  location  of  the  College,  267;  in  1849 
prophesies  a  second  Universalist  College, 
268;  objections  to  Walnut  Hill  as  site  tor 
the  College,  270;  one  of  the  original  trus- 
tees of  Tufts  College,  273;  on  the  com- 
mittee to  locate  the  College,  273;  on  the 
committee  on  by-laws,  273;  ou  the  com- 
mittee to  obtain  a  charter  for  the  College, 
275;  prefers  the  Franklin  to  the  Walnut 
Hill  location,  276;  on  the  committee  to 
outline  a  system  of  instruction  for  the 
College,  276;  unselfishness,  notable  in- 
stances of,  80, 107, 128, 143, 277, 280;  elected 
president  of  Tufts  College,  277;  visited 
all  New  England  colleges  and  many  Euro- 
pean universities,  279;  after  a  period  of 
absolute  refusal  finallv  accepted  the 
presidency  of  Tufts  College  to  avoid  a 
breakdown  at  once  in  the  undertaking, 
280;  exonerates  T.  J.  Sawyer  of  blame, 
280;  submits  plan  of  instruction,  281;  in- 
augurated as  president,  282;  pays  a  tribute 
to  Silvanus  Packard's  munificent  liberal- 
ity, 284;  his  method  of  conducting  a  reci- 
tation, 288;  exhausted  b)^  overwork  for 
the  College,  290;  sketch  of,  June  1)^,1859, 
by  Thomas  Whittemore,  with  Levi  Bal- 
lou's  aid,  291;  foresees  his  death,  293; 
facsimile  of  his  handwriting,  295;  his 
death  Monday  afternoon.  May  27,  1861, 
aged  64  years,  7  months,  9  days,  295; 
condition  of  Tufts  College  at  the  time  of 
his  decease  eminently  satisfactory,  295; 
estimates  of  his  character,  ability,  and 


307 


308 


INDEX. 


work,  297 ;  his  tribute  to  Fatlier  Ballou  in 
1854,  297 ;  to  many  Father  Ballou  and  Dr. 
Ballou  blended  in  one  personality,  297 
estimates  of  Dr.  Ballou  by  Dr.  G.  H 
Emerson,  298;  by  Boston  Transcript,  299 
by  Boston  Journal,  2y9;  by  Boston  Ad 
vertiser,  299;  by  Christian  Kegister  (Uni 
tarian),  299;  by  Dr.  James  Walker,  300 
by  Dr.  T.  B.  Thayer,  301;  by  Dr.  C.  H 
Leonard,  301;  by  Dr.  L.  R.  Paige,  302 
by  Dr.  J.  8.  Lee,  302;  by  Dr.  W.  H.  Ryder, 
302;  by  Dr.  J.  G.  Bartholomew,  303;  by 
Dr.  A.  J.  Patterson,  303;  by  Richard 
Frothingham,  303 ;  by  Thomas  btarr  King, 
296,  303;  bv  Dr.  J.  G.  Adams,  303;  by  Dr. 
E.  G.  Brooks,  303;  by  Dr.  A.  A.  Miner, 
304;  by  Adin  Ballou,  304;  by  Dr.  O.  F. 
Safford,  304;  by  Dr.  Richard  Eddy,  305; 
by  Dr.  T.  J.  Sawyer,  305;  Dr.  Ballou's 
seat  of  honor  at  Tufts  College,  301;  copy 
of  model  for  bust  at  Rome,  by  W.  W. 
Story,  .307. 

Ballou,  Hosea  Faxon,  219. 

Ballou,  Hosea  Starr,  222. 

Ballou,  James,  34. 

Ballou,  Jolm,  14. 

Ballou,  Julia  C,  99,  292. 

Ballou,  Levi,  50,  .53,  96, 171,  176,  201;  portrait 
and  biographical  sketch  of,  218;  244,  278, 
286,290,291,295,300. 

Ballou,  Martha  (Starr),  17,  20,  38,  53,  290. 

Ballou,  Martin,  Judge,  50,  224. 

Ballou,  Martin,  31. 

Ballou,  Mary  J.,  99,  292. 

Ballou  (or  Belleau),  Mathurin,  5,  9,10,11, 
178. 

Ballou,  Rev.  Maturin,  14,  15,  34. 

Ballou,  Maturin,  2i2. 

Ballou,  Peter,  14. 

Ballou,  K.  A.,  202,  248,  292. 

Ballou,  Silas,  34. 

Ballou,  William,  223. 

Ballou,  WiUiam  Starr,  50,  53,  145;  portrait 
and  biographical  sketch  of,  223,  245. 

Balou,  Guinebond,  9. 

Balue,  Cardinal  Jean  de  la,  7,  8. 

Bancroft,  George,  159. 

Baptists  at  Providence,  10. 

Barnard.  Vt.,  40. 

Barney  Hill,  43,  192. 

Barnum,  P.T.,  273,  286. 

Bartholomew,  J.  G.,  104,  303. 

"  Bay  Psalm  Book,"  93. 

Beecher,  Edward,  140. 

Belleau,  Helene  de,  12. 

Belleau  (or  Ballou),  Mathurin,  5, 10, 11. 

Bennington,  Vt.,  27. 

BernardstoD,  Mass.,  221. 

Book,  description  of  a,  208. 

"  Border  Ode  (A),"  (poem),  206. 

Boutwell,  George  S.,  165. 

Bowen,  Henry,  109,  111. 

Boyden,  J.,  Jr.,  261. 

Bradburn,  George,  249. 

Bradstreet,  Anne,  79. 

Brattleboro,  Vt.,  33,  273. 

Brattleboro  Reporter,  64. 

Brattleboro,  West,  33, 223,  243. 


Brazer,  John,  90. 

British  Museum,  139,  181. 

Brooks,  E.  G.,  105,  123, 151, 161,  288,  303. 

Brown,  Isaac,  249. 

Browne,  L.  C,  225,  273. 

Building  Committee,  276. 

Bimker,   George,   owner   of    the    famous 

Charlestown  hill,  20,  257. 
Bunker  Hill,  20,  257. 
Bunker,  Martha,  20,  257. 
"  Byron's  Song  "  (poem),  196. 

Cacouna  to  Tadousac  (From),  (poem),  174. 

Calvin,  John,  8, 182. 

Cambridge,  18,  159,  267,  270. 

Capen,  E.  U.,  248. 

"  Carlyle  the  Younger,"  chapters  from,  21S. 

Carlyle,  Thomas,  181, 188. 

Chambers,  Robert,  ISO,  188. 

Cbambre,  A.  St.  John,  140. 

Channing,  William  Ellery,  41;  succeeded 

by  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  as  Overseer  of  Har- 
vard University,  158. 
Chapin,  Edwin  H.,  145,   152,   161,   190,   230; 

portrait  and  biographical  sketch  of,  233; 

247,  260. 
Charlestown,  Mass.,  79,  227,  257;  picture  of 

church,  257;  259,275. 
Charlton,  Mass.,  69,  72. 116,  250. 
Charter  of  Tufts  College,  275. 
Chase,  Mary,  222. 

Chase,  Daniel,  and  Chase  Tavern,  75. 
Cheney,  Ebenezer,  219,  244. 
Cheney,  Nathaniel,  237. 
Cheney,  William,  244. 
Chester,  Vt.,  219. 
Children,  his,  75,  98,  99,  292. 
Choate,  Rufus,  101. 

Church  property,  growth  in  value  of,  89. 
Claremont,  N.  H.,  75. 
Clement  of  Alexandria,  133, 147,  149. 
Clinton  Liberal  Institute,  251,  261. 
Clowes,  Timothy,  260. 
Commencement  Day  of  Tufts  CoUege,  first, 

Wednesday,  July  8, 1857,  290;  third,  292. 
Committees  for  establishing  Tufts  College, 

261,  265,  266,  267,  273,  275,  276,  277. 
College  boys'  pranks,  163,  289. 
College  or  University,  State  agents  to  solicit 

funds  for,  261;  how  to  raise  funds  for, 

261. 
Coolidge,  J.  A.,  249. 
Corner  stone  of  Tufts  College  laid  by  Dr. 

Ballou,  July  19,  1853,  278. 
Cornhill,  190 ;  picture  of,  200,  242. 
Cotting,  Timothy,  108,  256,  275,  276,  285. 
"Course  of  Biblical  and  Theological  Study," 

216-218. 
"  Cousin,"  55,  161,  210. 
Craddock,  Matthew,  10. 
Cross  Street  Church,  Somerville,  259. 
Curtis,  James  O.,  106,  284. 
Cutt,  Hannah  (Starr),  20,  56. 
Cutt,  John,  president  of  Province  of  New 

Hampshire,  20,  56. 

Dana,  Mass.,  40. 
Davis,  Mrs.  Horace,  233. 


INDEX. 


309 


Dean,  Oliver,  m.d.,  portrait  of,  255;  273, 274, 

•275,  286. 
Dean,  Paul,  76,  81, 113. 
Dearborn,  Heman  A.,  291,  301. 
Dearborn  Street,  96. 
Death  of  Dr.  BaUou,  Monday,  May  27, 1861, 

295. 
Degrees  conferred  by  Harvard  University, 

160. 
Dickinson,  John  W.,  166. 
District  school,  49. 
Dorchester,  Mass.,  14,  79. 
Dorchester  Heights,  79. 
Drew,  W.  P.,  279. 
Dudley,  Gov.  Joseph,  79. 
Dudley,  Paul,  79. 
Dudley,  Gov.  Thomas,  78. 
Dudley  Street,  78. 
Dunster,  Henry,  284. 

Early  environment,  22. 

Eaton,  Edwin  A.,  249. 

Eddy,  Richard,  305. 

Edgarton,  Sarah  C,  145, 146,  238. 

Edmands,  Thomas,  257. 

Education,  plea  for,  251. 

Educational  Convention,  265,  266. 

Edwards,  Jonathan,  100. 

Eliot,  Charles  W.,  164. 

Eliot,  Apostle  John,  23,  77,  93. 

Ellis,  Sumner,  221,  236;  portrait,  246;  bio- 
graphical sketch,  244. 

Emerson,  George  B.,  165. 

Emerson,  George  H.,  146,  295,  298. 

Endowment,  plan  for  securing,  261. 

England.  9,  13,  14,  17,  177, 186,  244. 

Em-ope,  175-188,  279. 

Everett,  Edward,  161. 

Expenses  must  not  exceed  income,  284. 

Expositor  and  Universalist  Review  (The), 
145. 

Expositor,  index  of  articles  by  Hosea  Bal- 
lou,  2d,  in  the,  153-157. 

Fay,  Addison  G.,  249. 

Fay,  Cyrus  H.,  104,  194. 

Felton,  Cornelius  C,  163, 166. 

Finances  of  Tufts  College,  266,  272,  285, 
286. 

First  Universalist  Church,  Boston,  picture 
and  sketch  of,  246. 

First  pastor  of  the  Stafford  Universalist 
Church,  67. 

First  pastor  of  the  Roxbury  Universalist 
Church,  80. 

First  president  of  the  Universalist  Histori- 
cal Society,  142. 

First  doctor  of  divinity  in  the  Universalist 
ministry,  160. 

Fiske,  John,  163. 

Flagg,  Joshua,  81. 

Forester,  Jonathan,  221. 

Foster,  Isaac,  67. 

Foster,  Joel,  36. 

Foster,  R.  I.,  14, 15. 

"  Fragment,  The  "  (poem),  6.5. 

Francis,  Eben,  249. 

France,  7, 11, 12, 184. 


Franklin,  Mass.,  274,  275. 
French  Ancestry,  6, 10, 11. 
French  Revolution,  32. 
"  Frater  .^feiidiciis,"  208. 
"  Free  School  in  lloxburie,"  77. 
Frothiiigliani,  James  K.,  257. 
Frothiimliaiu-Goddaril,  Mary  T.,  190,  257. 
Frothingliau),  Richard,  257. 
Frothinirluim,  Richard,  Jr.,  257,  281,    287, 
292,  303. 

Galesljurg,  111.,  223. 

Gardner,  Calvin,  256,  273,  277. 

Garfield,  Elizabeth  Ballou,  35. 

Garfield,  James  A.,  34. 

Garfield,  James  Ballou,  34. 

Gay,  J.  W.,88. 

Germany,  181. 

Gnostics,  132. 

Goddard,  Mrs.  Mary  T.,  190,  278,  286. 

Goddard,  Thomas  A.,  191,  28,5,  286,  294. 

Goethe's  Dedication  to  his  Faust,  105,  106. 

Goodell,  Elvira  B.,  222. 

Goodrich,  Massena,  249. 

Gore,  The,  Monroe  "  Four-comers,"  54. 

Gospel  Visitant,  70. 

Governor's  Mountain,  24,  30. 

"  Grateful  remembrance  of  future  gener- 
ations "  for  the  establishment  of  a  col- 
lege, 261. 

Gray,  Asa,  160. 

Great  Brook,  32. 

Great  works  accomplished  only  by  propor- 
tionate toil  and  privation,  269. 

Greeley,  Horace,  145. 

Green  iVIountain  Boys,  25. 

Green  Mountain  Liberal  Institute,  243. 

Green  River,  30,  42,  59,  168. 

Greenwood,  T.  J.,  261,  273,  277,  278. 

Grosh,  A.  B.,  234. 

Guilford,  Vt.,  23,  33,  38,  96,  239. 

Hagar,  D.  B.,  166. 

Halifax,  Vt.,  23,  38,  41,  53,  266. 

"  Hard  Times,"  101,  292. 

Harris,  Lydia,  14. 

Harris,  Thomas,  13. 

Harris,  William,  13. 

Hartford,  Conn.,  69,  70,  76. 

Hartland,  Vt.,  219,  223. 

Harvard  boys'  pranks,  163. 

Harvard  College,   19,  127;  an  Overseer  of, 

as  Dr.  Channing's  successor,  158;  257,  259, 

267,  271,  273,  279,  284,  287. 
Harvard  Degrees,  160, 161. 
Harvard,  John,  18,  2,57. 
Hatch,  Clarissa,  .'iO,  75,  292. 
Haven,  K.,  260. 
Hayes,  Rutherford,  33. 
Hinesburgh,  Vt.,.30. 
"History  of  the  Crusades  against  the  Albi- 

genses  in  the  Thirteenth  Century,"    by 

Sismoudi,  141. 
Holland,  181. 
Honors  bestowed,  158. 
Hopkins,  Mark,  165. 
Horton,  Lvdia,  15. 
Hyde,  Ephraim  H.,  69. 


310 


INDEX. 


Hyde,  Jasper  H.,  and  Hyde  Tavern,  68. 
Hypochondria,  due  to  popular  contempt  of 
systematic  culture,  268. 

Inaugural  Address  as  President  of  Tufts 

College,  282. 
Index  of  articles  by  H.  Ballou,  2d,  in  the 

Expositor  and  the  Quarterly,  153-157. 
"  Invocation  to  Winter,"  94,  95. 
Ireland,  178. 
Irenseus,  132. 
Italy,  184. 

Justin  Martyr,  132. 

King,  Frederick  R.,  233. 

King,  Thomas  F.,  145,  226. 

King,  Thomas  Starr,  86,  145,  161,  167,   190, 

208 ;  portrait  and  biographical  sketch  of, 

226;  286,287,296,303. 
Kneeland,  Abner,  258. 

La  Rochehe,  11. 

Lawrence,  Daniel,  108. 

Lebanon,  N.  H.,  72. 

Lee,  Eli,  239. 

Lee,  Frederick  S.,244. 

Lee,  John  C,  244. 

Lee,  John  Stebbins,  portrait  and  biograph- 
ical sketch,  239;  245,302. 

Lee,  Leslie  A.,  244. 

Lemist,  Edwin,  83. 

Lemist,  John,  88. 

Leonard,  Charles  H.,  151, 188,  288,  295,  301. 

Library  of  Tufts  College,  200,  208,  210,  232, 
287,  294. 

"  Literary  Correspondence  "  (A),  56. 

Location  for  a  college,  263;  change  of ,  267. 

Locke,  J.  J.,  249. 

Lombard  University,  233,  265. 

London,  181. 

Louis  XI,  7. 

Loveland,  S.  C,  145. 

Lowell  Tri-weekly  American,  275. 

Lusher,  Eleazer.  20. 

Luther,  Martin,  8,  269. 

Macaulay's  estimate  of  the  Huguenots, 
12. 

Maiden,  England,  258. 

Maiden,  Mass.,  211,  229,  258. 

Mann,  Horace,  165,  222. 

Marcus,  his  nom  deplume,  110. 

Marlboro,  Vt.,  53. 

Marot,  Clement,  10. 

Marriage,  75. 

Marshall,  J.  P.,  279. 

Massachusetts  Board  of  Education,  mem- 
ber of,  165,  222. 

Mayo,  A.  D.,  228;  portrait  and  biographical 
sketch,  238. 

Medford,  Mass.,  10,  106;  settlement  in, 
107;  227,  257,  259,  267,  270,  285,  288,  292. 

Melrose  Seminary,  223. 

Metcalf ,  Albert,  286. 

Method  of  conducting  a  recitation,  288. 

Miner,  A.  A.,  145,  278,  281,  295,  304. 


Ministerial  Circle,  167. 

Monadnock,  Grand,  23,  49, 168, 171,  220. 

Monroe,  Deacon,  Story  of,  92. 

Moore,  Asher,  108. 

Murray,  John,  41,  66,  76,  298. 

Mus=ey,  B.  B.,  93, 141, 175,  246,  256,  272,  273, 

275,  276,  279,  285. 

Moderator  of  the  General  Convention  at 
thirty,  166. 

"  New  Hampshire  Gazette,"  58, 

"  New  Hampshire  Grants,"  22. 

Newman,  A.  W.,  96. 

Newman,  W.  J.,  77. 

Newport,  N.H.,  219. 

Newport,  R.  I.,  6, 14. 

New  Salem,  Mass.,  36,  221,  245. 

"  Newsboys'  Address,"  60. 

Nichols,  Amasa,  250. 

Nichols  Academy,  72,  250. 

Norwich,  Conn.,  69,  70. 

Notices  of  books,  his  rule  in  regard  to,  150. 

Olney,  Richard,  13. 
Olney,  Thomas,  13. 
Orange,  North,  34,  36,  39,  219,  244,  248,  290, 

291. 
Origen,  134,  149,  231. 
Overexertion  for  Tufts  College,  293. 
Overseer  of   Harvard  University,  as  Dr. 

Channing's  successor,  158,  266. 
Oxford,  35. 
Oxford  University,  181. 

Packard,  Silvanus,   272;  porti-ait   of,  273; 

276,  284,286. 

Paige,  Lucius  B.,  56,  85,  109, 161,  276,  302. 

Paris,  8, 185. 

Parker,  S.,  77. 

Parker,  Theodore,  298. 

Patten,  Justina,  13. 

Patterson,  A.  J.,  88,  303. 

Patronage  of  Tufts  CoUege,  291. 

"  Paved  street  "  of  Boxbury,  77. 

Philosophy  of  human  action,  198. 

Pierce,  J.  D.,249. 

Pike,  Robert,  13. 

"  Pilgrimage  of  Childe  Edwin  and  CMlde 

Cyrus  (The),"  191. 
Plan  for  securing  endowments,  262. 
Plan  of  insti'uction,  281. 
Poitiers,  7. 

Poitiers,  Jean  Baptiste  du,  12. 
Poitou,  7. 

Porter,  Elipbalet,  76,  84,  92,  93, 103. 
Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  20,  55,  66,  257. 
"  Praise  ye  the  Lord,"  etc.  (hymn),  71. 
Prescolt,  William  H.,  159. 
Primitive  Christianity,  129. 
Private  School  in  Roxbury,  96. 
Province  House  Row,  124. 
Putnam,  George,  93. 

Quarterly,  The  Universalist,  146. 
Quarterly,  Index  of  articles  by  H.  Ballou, 

2d,  in  the,  153-157. 
Quincy,  Josiah,  158. 


INDEX. 


311 


Bandolph,  Vt.,  219, 323. 

Responsibilities  of  Universalists  (The),  265. 

Restoi-atiouist  Coutroversy,  112;  prompted 
byeuvv,  118;  "  stuuniug  effect"  of  reply 
by  H.  "B;illou,  2d,  to  the  "Appeal"  and 
"Declaration,"  122. 

"  Review  of  the  denomination  of  Univer- 
sahsts  in  the  United  States  in  1839,"  251. 

Rich.  Caleb,  34,  40. 

Richardson,  William  H.,  210. 

Richmond,  N.  H.,  15,  23,  33,  219. 

Richmond  Hill,  30. 

Robinson,  Charles,  259. 

Robinson,  George  D.,  259. 

Robinson,  Hannah,  259. 

Robinson,  William,  259. 

Rogers,  C.  H.,  261. 

"  Rose  of  Sharon,"  43. 

Roxbury,  Mass.,  second  settlement  at,  76; 
desci'iptiou  of  church,  79;  cost  of,  77; 
foundation  of  later  prosperity,  89;  resig- 
nation, 102;  302. 

'•  Roxbury  Neck,"  83. 

Ryder,  W.  H.,  S3,  86,  104,  247,  278,  302. 

Safford,  O.  F.,16,305. 

St.  Lawrence  University,  picture  of,  243; 
26.'i. 

Sawyer,  Caroline  M.,  145,  147. 

Sawyer,  Thomas  J.,  107,  138,  140,  145,  1.52, 
161,  211,  254,  260,  261,  265;  urged  by  Dr. 
Ballou  for  president,  267 ;  272, 276,  277,  278, 
29),  305. 

Sawyer,  Timothy  T.,  258,  300. 

School  Committee,  member  of,  in  Roxbury, 
97,  98;  ill  Medford,  l(i7,  227. 

School  Street  Church,  Boston,  79,  82;  finan- 
ces of ,  90;  125,  237. 

Scotland,  179. 

Sears,  Barnas,  165. 

Secretary  of  the  General  Convention  of 
Universalists.  1S24  to  1839,  124. 

"  She-creature,"  204. 

Sibley,  John  Langdon,  164,  287. 

Sibylhne  Oracles,  132. 

Skinner,  Otis  A.,  152,  224;  contract  with, 
266 ;  267,  272,  275,  276,  277. 

Slavery,  protest  against,  1848,  157;  1861, 
294. 

Smelt  Brook,  78. 

Smith,  Elias,  79,  81,  225. 

Smith,  Henry  P.,  55. 

Smith,  Matthew  Hale,  100,  101;  sketch  of, 
225. 

Smith,  Preserved,  55. 

Smith,  Stephen  R.,  145,  231,  252,  260,  262. 

Socrates  of  Universalists,  304. 

Socratic  method,  36,  57,  240,  288. 

Sophocles,  Evangelinus  Apostolides,  162, 
164. 

South  Woodstock,  Vt.,  243. 

Sparks,  Jared,  159, 163. 

Spear,  Charles,  249. 

Spear,  J.  M.,  249. 

Springfield,  Mass.,  69,  267,  273. 

Stafford  Conn.,  first  settlement,  67;  re- 
moved from,  76;  81,  286. 

Standish,  Captain  Myles,  18. 


Starr,  Dr.  Comfort,  warden  of  St.  Mary's, 
17 ;  19,  20,  .56,  226,  257. 

Starr,  Comfort,  a.m.,  at  Harvard  College, 
1643-1647,  IS;  one  of  the  seven  incorpora- 
tors of  Harvard  College  in  1650,  19;  158, 
284. 

Starr,  Comfort,  Sr.,  of  Dedham,  20. 

Starr,  Comfort,  Jr.,  of  Dedham,  20. 

Starr,  Captain  Comfort,  17,  27,  33. 

Starr,  John,  18,  20,  257. 

Starr,  Martha,  17,  20,  21,  38,  .52. 

Starr,  Dr.  Thomas,  18, 19,  226,  257. 

Streeter,  Sebastian,  145,  246. 

Students  in  theology,  216. 

Subscriptions  for  Tufts  College,  272. 

Switzerland,  182. 

Talbot,  J.  W.,  249,  289. 

Thayer,  T.  B.,  145,  301. 

"  The  mighty  God  from  Teman  came,"  144. 

Theological  School  at  Clinton ,  N .  Y . ,  elected 

principal  of,  261. 
Theological    Seminary,  proposed  in   1827, 

250;  in  1849,  267;  in  1S51,  272. 
Thomas,  H.  W.,249. 
Thompson,  Timothy,  Jr.,  257. 
Tompkins,  Abel,  146,  173,  175,  190,  195,  196, 

197,  198,  199. 
Treasurers  of  Tufts  College,  285. 
"  Treatise  on  Atonement,"  40,  56. 
Trustees  of  Tufts  College,  1st  Board  of,  273. 
"Tuftes,"  England,  258. 
Tufts,  Charles,  255,  2.56,  257;  biographical 

sketch  and  portrait,  259;  272,  274,  276,  284, 

286. 
Tufts  College,  108,  211,  255,  259;  historical 

sketcli  of,  265. 
Tufts    College    Educational    Association, 

James  O.  Curtis,  Treasurer,  284. 
Tufts,  Daniel,  258. 
Tufts,   Hannah    (Robinson),    biographical 

sketch  and  portrait,  259. 
Tufts,  Nathan,  257. 
Tufts,  Peter,  258. 
Tufts,  Peter,  Jr.,  259. 
Tufts  Street  Chapel,  Somerville,  259. 
Turner,  Edward,  79,  81,  114, 124.  257. 
Tweed,  Benjamin  F.,  203,  227,  279. 

Ultimate  test  of  time  the  measure  of  merit, 

301. 
Union  and  peace,  109. 
Universalism  in  the  first  centuries  of  the 

Christian  era,  129,  131, 134,  137. 
Universalists  and  Unitarians,  the  difl'erence 

between,  230. 
Universalist  Expositor  (The),  143. 
Universalist  Historical  Society  (The),  first 

president  of,  142. 
Universalist  Magazine  (The),  109. 
UuiversaUst  Miscellany  (The),  152,  223,  236. 
"  Ursa  Major"  (Abel  Tompkins) ,  198. 

Vacations,  168,  220,  290. 
Vane,  Sir  Harry,  10, 11. 
Vernon,  Vt.,  239. 


312 


INDEX. 


Wade,  Col.,  bequest  of,  285, 286. 

Walker,  James,  1B3,  300. 

Walker,  William  J.,  his  proposal,  March  29, 

1861,285,286. 
Walnut  Hill,  254,  267,  270,  274,  275. 
Walnut  Hill  tviingelical  Seminary,  255. 
Warren  Street  Church,  272. 
Washburn,  I.,  Jr.,  273,  275. 
Waterville,  Maine,  67. 
Wentworth,  Gov.  Benning,  23. 
Wheatland,  Henry,  165,  166. 
Whipple,  E.  P.,  2J(i,  228,  290 
White  Mountains  ( i  he),  168,  232. 
Whitingham,  Vt.,  40,  219. 
Whittemore,  Thomas,  16,  93,  104,  108,  109, 

110,  111,  123,  127,  256,  265,  276,  277,  278,  291, 

300,  302. 
Williams,  Mrs.  Dudley,  92. 
Williams,  Dudley,  92. 


Williams,  Henry  D.,  86. 
Williams,  Roger,  10,  78. 
Williams,  Samuel  S.,  77. 
Williamson,  1.  D.,  234. 
Winchester,  Elhanan,40,76,  298. 
Winchester,  N.  H.,  23,  39,  219. 
Wit  and  Wisdom,  190. 
Woburn,  Mass.,  229. 
Wood,  Jacob,  112. 
Wood,  Thomas  H.,  53. 
Worcester,  Mass.,  273. 
Work,  work,  and  let  the  work  speak  for 
itself  before  the  world,  280. 

"  Ye  realms  below  the  skies,"  305. 
Youth,  49. 

Zeigler  Street,  96. 


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